Aggrieved by the delay in their appointment as government school teachers in Bihar, thousands of applicants have launched a blitzkrieg of protests on social media.
“I spent Rs 200,000 to gain a bachelor’s degree in education (B.Ed). Another fifty thousand rupees got spent in applying for teaching positions across different blocks in the state,” 27-year-old Akash Baranwal, an applicant for the government teacher’s job, told Gaon Connection.
“It’s been two years since I was shortlisted for the job. Even my parents have asked me to quit the hope of getting this job and look elsewhere,” the unemployed youth added.
A resident of Jamui district, situated about 165 kilometers from state capital Patna, Baranwal is amongst 94,000 applicants who have been shortlisted for their appointment as government school teachers and are waiting for their appointment. Meanwhile, the schools in the state are understaffed and over 300,000 teaching positions vacant.
Replying to a question about the understaffed schools, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Minister of Education in the Bihar government told the state legislative assembly on November 22, 2019 that there are 315,778 teaching positions vacant in schools run by the state government. Also, there are at least 3,000 schools in the state that have just one teacher to teach the entire school.
Degrees, delays and disappointment
The aspirants for the job of a state government school teacher are required to pass the state-level TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) or CTET (Central Teacher Eligibility Test) along with their graduation requirements.
Also Read: Reaching out to the last child in the learning curve in the pandemic
In 2019, the state government released a notification stating that a total of 94,000 such aspirants who qualified for these requirements were shortlisted for their appointment as government school teachers for classes 1 to 12.
The merit list of these applicants has also been released but what keeps them waiting is the final appointment.
Also Read: Budget 2021-22 – Insufficient allocation to education sector disappoints activists and researchers
Saurav Kumar, a resident of Patna and an admin of a Twitter page (Bihar Prarambhik Shikshak Niyojan) that promotes the interests of the applicants told Gaon Connection, “The notification was issued in 2019. It had to be done in 2014 but got delayed by five years. It was issued after we launched a campaign. We have been requesting the government to make the entire process online but the government doesn’t pay heed.”
“It’s been six months since the Patna High Court directed the government to reserve four per cent seats for divyang (specially abled) applicants. The government had agreed to do so but even then the counselling and appointment is being delayed,” he added.
Also Read: Bundelkhand University hikes fee by 20 to 90%. Many students say they may have to give up studies
As per Kumar, various delays by the government in implementing the orders issued by the high court have delayed the appointments.
Exemplifying the delays, Kumar told Gaon Connection, “The application process ended on November 23, 2019. In January, 2020, the court asked the government to include the applicants who have a diploma in elementary education from the NIOS (National Institute of Open Schools) who qualify the criteria as of November 23, 2019,” he said.
Kumar pointed out that although the court had given a month’s time for the government to implement the order, it took the government six months to do so.
Also Read: Government faces flak from irate students in limbo
“It is true that the COVID19 pandemic doesn’t allow physical counselling to take place, but that’s why we have asked the government to make the process online, but to no avail,” he added.
Drought of teachers in Bihar
The Bihar government has not appointed school teachers since 2015-16. This crisis is coupled by a constant rise in the number of students enrolled in the government schools.
According to a report jointly released by Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and UNICEF (United Nations Children Emergency Fund) in December, 2016, there are a total of 41,762 primary schools and 26,523 middle schools in Bihar.
The report titled ‘A Snapshot of Bihar Elementary Education – District-wise Statistical Report’ mentions that there are 3,276 primary schools that are equipped with just one teacher per school. About 12,507 schools have a couple of teachers, 10,595 schools have three teachers each, 7,170 schools have four teachers and 4,366 schools with five teachers and 3,874 schools with more than five teachers per school.
Anupam, convenor of Yuva Halla Bol, a New Delhi-based organisation that works for issues like unemployment, blames government’s lack of political will for the delay in teachers’ appointment.
“If the state government had been a bit proactive about the issue then the appointment of these 94,000 teachers would have been done by now,” Anupam told Gaon Connection.
“There are vacancies for not just teachers but various other departments in the state government. If these 94,000 teachers would have been appointed by now then lakhs of families wouldn’t have to live in financial insecurity at a time when the COVID19 pandemic is raging. The government should appoint these teachers at the earliest,” he added.
Justice Anil Kumar Upadhyay of Patna High Court, while listening to a case pertaining to the state of affairs of the education system in Bihar had commented in February, last year, “Bihar’s education system is ruining the young generation. A change in the system will come when all the government servants will be required to send their children to government schools.”
NOTE: Gaon Connection tried to contact Ranjeet Kumar – director of primary education in Bihar, but the calls were not picked. Also, the state education minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary’s office stated that he is not present in the office and denied the contact details of his mobile phone.
