Bihar: Contractual School Teachers Set to Launch State-Wide Stir on Teachers’ Day

Patna: More than 3.5 lakh contractual school teachers in Bihar are up in arms against the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance government’s 15% increase in their salary and revised service conditions to woo them ahead of the Assembly elections due later this year. The teachers have threatened to launch an agitation (protest) from Teachers’ Day (September 5).

Nearly a week after the Bihar government announced the pre-poll  “gift” for the contractual school teachers, locally known as ‘Niyojit Shikshak’, their different associations have termed it as “cheating”  and have been burning copies of the revised service conditions across the state.

Bihar Panchayat Nagar Prarambhik Shikshak Sangh’s state president Anand Kaushal Singh said all contractual school teachers will observe Teachers’ Day as Apman (insult) Diwas and will launch phase-wise agitation against the government’s move . “We will start protest from September 5 if the government did not fulfil our demand of pay on par with permanent teachers and same service conditions till September 4”, he added.

Singh said all contractual school teachers will attend school wearing black badges and will boycott official functions on Teachers’ Day. After that contractual teachers plan to take out ‘funeral processions’ of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi at all block headquarters on September 12 followed by a candle march by teachers in their respective blocks on September 19.

Singh also claimed that contractual teachers would take a pledge vote against the ruling NDA candidates in the upcoming Assembly polls in October-November in all 243 Assembly seats “to ensure their defeat”.

Barjnandan Sharma, convenor of Bihar Rajya Shikshak Sangharsh Samanvay Samiti, said “We reject the revised service conditions for contractual school teachers announced by the government last week, This has angered all contractual school teachers”.

Sharma,who is also president of Bihar Rajya Prathmik Shikshak Sangh , said that if the government did not announce service conditions for contractual teachers similar to permanent teachers and others seven point demand, we will be forced to launch a big agitation soon.

Manoj Kumar, a leader of Samiti,said contractual teachers are not fools to express happiness over a 15% increase in their salary and revised service conditions.This is a cruel joke notwithstanding our demand for pay on par with permanent teachers in government schools and service conditions. It is not the first time a pay hike had been announced ahead of the 2015 polls as well.

Manoj said that in May, contractual teachers ended their 78-days indefinite strike due to the COVID-19 pandemic and following the state government's assurance that they will look into the demands. “But the government announced its decision without even inviting associations of contractual teachers as it had promised. It is nothing but a humiliation and insult for the contractual teachers.”

According to officials of the Education Department here, the average monthly salary of a contractual teacher can range between Rs 25,000 and 28,000 per month. However, permanent teachers get paid between Rs 75,000 and Rs 95,000 per month, depending on their seniority.

Bihar Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh and BSSTA have also not welcomed the government’s announcement so far.

As per the official release of the government, the state Cabinet on August 18 had approved the 15 % increase in basic salary of contractual teachers appointed since 2006. The government will also contribute to the employee provident funds. But this will be effective from April 1, 2021.

Nitish Kumar on Monday objected to calling school teachers as contractual or niyojit. "It is wrong to call them Niyojit Shikshak’, they are permanent teachers", he said while interacting during an official programme through video conference.

But Manoj said this was another jumla (hollow statement) by Nitish Kumar ahead of polls. If Niyojit Shikshak are permanent teachers , why are they not getting equal pay for equal work like regular school teachers, he said. Second,  why there is different service conditions for them?

Manoj claimed that nearly 72 contractual teachers had died during the strike period. Most of the striking teachers who died were reportedly under stress owing to the non-payment of salaries and died of heart attack, brain haemorrhage and lack of proper treatment due to financial crunch etc, he said.

After the Supreme Court’s decision in favour of the state government last year – Setting aside the Patna High Court judgement – thousands of contractual school teachers in Bihar were angry and disappointed. The apex court refused to regularise jobs of about 3.5 lakh contractual teachers in Bihar. In protest against this verdict, many contractual school teachers had threatened to launch a protest after summer vacations.

The state government had challenged Patna High Court's order, which had ruled that contractual teachers in government schools were entitled to salary on par with the regular permanent teachers working in various government schools in Bihar.