Bihar Education Dept. Requests Increased School and College Inspections from District Authorities

The district authorities in Bihar have been requested to increase school and college inspections and make sure that no instructors are working on projects other than teaching.

In anticipation of the state’s caste survey exercise commencing, the agency halted all existing training sessions for instructors (including new hires). It has now indicated that training would resume beginning on August 7 for employees who are not participating in the survey.

K K Pathak, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Education Department, requested district managers (DMs) in a letter dated August 1, 2023, to ensure that no schools in their respective districts had any teacher shortages during the caste census process.

He added in his letter that “DMs are also requested to ensure that teachers are not engaged in any other administrative work, aside from the caste survey exercise,” emphasizing that this should not have an impact on the quality of instruction in government schools.

The Director of Administration of the Department has asked all senior officials in the Education Department in another letter dated August 2, 2023 to examine at least 10 schools or degree-granting institutions each week. The letter instructed the relevant personnel to routinely provide inspection reports to the headquarters.

The agency has now declared that training will resume for employees who are not participating in the survey beginning on August 7. The department had previously paused all current training sessions for instructors (including new hires) on Wednesday in anticipation of the state’s caste survey exercise commencing.

In a letter dated August 3 to the heads of every College of Teacher Education (CTE), District Institute for Education and Training (DIET), Primary Teacher Education College (PTEC), and Block Institute for Education and Training (BIET), Director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Sajjan R urged them to resume the residential training of new batches of teachers (including new recruits) on August 7.

As the Bihar caste census was deemed “valid and legal” by the Patna High Court, the state administration reacted swiftly and stopped all active teacher training programs on Wednesday so that they might be included in the survey’s early completion.

The letter states that “now the training will begin on August 7 for those teachers who are not participating in the caste survey exercise.” The caste survey project would cost the state government 500 crore rupees from its contingency reserve. The focal authority for the survey is the general administration division.