BJP protest over Bihar recruitment policy; state government cancels teachers' leaves

PATNA: The Bihar government has cancelled the leaves of all teachers for a week, an official document said. The Bihar education department has also asked the district magistrates to inspect all state-run schools on Thursday to check the attendance of teachers.

"The attendance/presence of teachers in all government schools must be 100 per cent on July 13... Strict departmental action, including suspension, should be taken against those teachers who are found absent during inspection on July 13," a letter by KK Pathak, the additional chief secretary (ACS-Education), said.

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The department has also asked the district education officers to cancel the leaves of all teaching staff for a week. "Only in emergency situations, permission (of leave) can be taken directly from the ACS only," the letter read, which was issued on Wednesday. The reasons behind the directives were not specified by the department in the letters.

However, the opposition BJP claimed that the directions were given to prevent teachers from participating in its state-wide protest against the new recruitment policy. "The BJP is organising a protest march against the new recruitment policy for teachers on Thursday. The march will begin at Gandhi Maidan and conclude at the gate of the state assembly. These directions were issued to prevent the participation of teachers in the protest. This shows the dictatorial mindset of the Nitish Kumar government," alleged state BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand.

On July 11, teaching job aspirants protested in Patna against the government's decision to remove the domicile policy in hiring 1.7 lakh teachers, which would allow people from other states to take part in the process.