Bihar Cabinet approves proposal to recruit 1.78 lakh teachers

The state government has approved the Bihar State School Teachers (Recruitment, transfer, disciplinary action and service conditions) rules, 2023, and decided to recruit fresh lot of teachers through the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).

Going ahead with its plan to recruit teachers as per the newly approved policy, the Bihar cabinet on Tuesday sanctioned creation 1,78,026 posts of teachers in different categories under the education department, additional chief secretary (cabinet) S Siddharth said.

A protest by teachers in Patna. (HT archive)

Briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar, Siddharth said all the new positions of teachers have been created under the education department after surrendering the equal number of posts of teachers hitherto attached with the urban local bodies (ULBs) and panchayati raj institutions (PRIs).

This was among 18 proposals approved by the cabinet.

The state government has approved the Bihar State School Teachers (Recruitment, transfer, disciplinary action and service conditions) rules, 2023, and decided to recruit fresh lot of teachers through the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), while phasing out the prevalent system of appointment through ULBs and PRIs on fixed pay. However, the teachers appointed through previous process are up in arms and agitating against the new policy across the state.

Siddharth said the cabinet gave its nod for creation of 57,618 posts of teachers in higher secondary (11-12 class), 33,186 secondary (class 9-10), 1,785 (6-8 class) and 85,477 primary (1-5 class).

The state education department has already notified new scales of teachers of different categories to be appointed under the new policy. Net salary of teachers ranges between ₹35,000 to 51,000 per month.

In another important decision, the state government has decided to ban operation of all commercial vehicles more than 15 years old in Gaya and Muzaffarpur with effect from October 1 in view of rising level of air pollution. The cabinet also approved the transport department’s proposal to ban plying of diesel-powered three-wheelers in the two districts from midnight of September 30.

However, the duration of extending incentives for encouraging use of clean energy has been extended till March 31, 2024.

The cabinet also gave administrative sanction for release of ₹4,171 crore for construction of administrative buildings of 2,000 panchayats. The scheme will be implemented by the panchayati raj department. Construction of around 3,000 panchayat buildings out of total around 8,000 is going on.