Separate cadre for school heads in Bihar through competition to improve quality

Bihar principal secretary said that the cadre of headmasters for secondary schools will be at the divisional level, while that for head teachers for primary schools will be at the district level.

Bihar government will create separate cadres for head teachers in primary schools and headmasters in higher secondary schools who will have to qualify through a competitive examination, possibly resulting in an improvement in the quality of education in schools, chief minister Nitish Kumar said in his Independence Day speech in Patna on Sunday.

At present, a large number of schools are without headmasters and the matter has been raised in the Bihar legislature time and again. (HT Photo/Representative use)

Implementing the new process will require amending the regulations for school teachers that were announced just ahead of the assembly elections last year and provided for appointment of headmasters and head teachers through promotion of teachers fulfilling the required qualifications.

Principal secretary of the department of education Sanjay Kumar said it was a major policy decision.

“The guidelines for the appointment of headmasters will be framed first and later we will change the regulations announced last year. Last year’s regulations were for teachers appointed through panchayati raj institutions since 2006, while the cadre of headmasters and head teachers will now be of the state level. All teachers could participate in the competition, subject to qualification. The details will be published soon,” he added.

At present, a large number of schools are without headmasters and the matter has been raised in the Bihar legislature time and again.

The principal secretary said that the cadre of headmasters for secondary schools will be at the divisional level, while that for head teachers for primary schools will be at the district level. “For high schools, those with requisite qualification could participate in the competition even from outside the government school system. Those working with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CICSE) schools could also participate. The basic objective is to bring in quality people for quality leadership in schools so that the system improves,” he added.

The move is in keeping with the Union ministry of Human Resource development’s suggestion last year to the states to consider filling 50% posts of headmasters in primary and upper primary schools through direct recruitment.

The lack of quality education in government schools has often caused a lot of embarrassment despite growing enrolment, incentives and expenditure and even drawn flak from the Patna High Court.

With the new move, the government, said a senior official, will provide a platform to meritorious teachers to excel and join the government cadre. The school teachers appointed in the last 15 years have been demanding old prescribed pay-scale and they also fought a long legal battle with the government, but lost.

“Now, the government wants to give opportunity to the deserving ones through an open competition, which would require them to compete with the best, even from outside the government system. The modalities are being worked out and it could soon be placed before the cabinet,” he added.