Tag: Bihar education department

  • Bihar govt asks school teachers to sell empty gunny bags used for midday meal scheme

    Express News Service

    PATNA: The Bihar education department has issued a letter asking its teachers to sell empty gunny bags at Rs 20 per piece and deposit money in district treasuries or concerned bank accounts. 

    The letter to sell empty gunny bags was issued to the DPOs on August 14, 2023, by director, midday meal, Mitilesh Mishra.

    In turn, DPO directed the headmasters of all schools under their jurisdiction to comply with the order on a priority basis or be prepared to face disciplinary action. The headmasters of schools subsequently entrusted the responsibility to their subordinate teachers.

    The education department is also planning to reduce the lunch period by 15 minutes and increase the timing of classes.

    Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP took a jibe at the directive and accused the Bihar CM of ruining the education system in the state.

    “Teachers are being engaged in non-teaching work, risking the students’ future,” alleged BJP OBC cell’s national general secretary Nikhil Anand.

    In Bihar, food grains packed in gunny bags are supplied to government schools for midday meals. The sacks are piled up at schools after the use of grains and subsequently sold in the market. However, the recent directive has come as a bolt from the blue for the teachers and their heads.

    “Not only the rate of gunny bags has been doubled compared to the previous year’s rate but also asked to comply with the directive on a priority basis. Are we meant for these things?,” said a visibly upset school teacher in Samastipur district.

    The last time rate of empty gunny bags was revised in 2016. As per the revised rate, each empty gunny bag was to be sold for Rs.10.

    The education department has hogged the limelight ever since a senior IAS K K Pathak assumed charge as additional chief secretary in the education department. Known as a no-nonsense officer, Pathak has issued a series of directives to improve the condition prevailing in government schools.

    A senior official of the state education department said that in most of the schools, the midday meal is prepared at the school level and served to the students by the cook. But in some districts like Vaishali, the midday meal is supplied to all schools by an NGO. According to officials of the state education department, the midday meal is served to students studying in 70,332 primary and middle schools per day across the state.

    PATNA: The Bihar education department has issued a letter asking its teachers to sell empty gunny bags at Rs 20 per piece and deposit money in district treasuries or concerned bank accounts. 

    The letter to sell empty gunny bags was issued to the DPOs on August 14, 2023, by director, midday meal, Mitilesh Mishra.

    In turn, DPO directed the headmasters of all schools under their jurisdiction to comply with the order on a priority basis or be prepared to face disciplinary action. The headmasters of schools subsequently entrusted the responsibility to their subordinate teachers.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    The education department is also planning to reduce the lunch period by 15 minutes and increase the timing of classes.

    Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP took a jibe at the directive and accused the Bihar CM of ruining the education system in the state.

    “Teachers are being engaged in non-teaching work, risking the students’ future,” alleged BJP OBC cell’s national general secretary Nikhil Anand.

    In Bihar, food grains packed in gunny bags are supplied to government schools for midday meals. The sacks are piled up at schools after the use of grains and subsequently sold in the market. However, the recent directive has come as a bolt from the blue for the teachers and their heads.

    “Not only the rate of gunny bags has been doubled compared to the previous year’s rate but also asked to comply with the directive on a priority basis. Are we meant for these things?,” said a visibly upset school teacher in Samastipur district.

    The last time rate of empty gunny bags was revised in 2016. As per the revised rate, each empty gunny bag was to be sold for Rs.10.

    The education department has hogged the limelight ever since a senior IAS K K Pathak assumed charge as additional chief secretary in the education department. Known as a no-nonsense officer, Pathak has issued a series of directives to improve the condition prevailing in government schools.

    A senior official of the state education department said that in most of the schools, the midday meal is prepared at the school level and served to the students by the cook. But in some districts like Vaishali, the midday meal is supplied to all schools by an NGO. According to officials of the state education department, the midday meal is served to students studying in 70,332 primary and middle schools per day across the state.

  • School teachers in Bihar protest government order by ‘openly’ selling empty MDM sacks

    Express News Service

    PATNA: Responding to a circular issued last month, government-run schools in Bihar have launched a unique protest. The circular, issued on July 22, had directed all such schools to sell empty sacks of food grains that were provided under midday meal scheme and deposit the money with the education department. 

    Muhammad Tamizzuddin, principal of one of the government schools in Katihar district, went to the local marketplace with a bundle of empty sacks on his head and started selling them at Rs 10 a piece. The video of this incident has gone viral since, following which the state education department has placed him under suspension. He has been accused of tarnishing the image of the department. 

    Angry over his suspension, primary and middle school teachers across the state have resorted to ‘sack sale’ agitation. Every week, teachers can be seen in public selling empty sacks. The teachers have also staged a dharna demanding that suspension of Tamizuddin be revoked. “We are responsible for teaching students, not selling sacks as the government order as asked us to,” said one of the teachers.

    State president of Bihar Primary Teachers Association Pradeep Kumar Pappu said that the agitation will continue till the government accepts our demands. He said that the order was impractical and involvement of the teaching fraternity was uncalled for as it will hamper their responsibilities towards children.

    The teachers are now planning to demonstrate before CM Nitish Kumar to seek his intervention.

    Around 1.30 crore jute sacks of food grains were sent to government schools during 2014-15 and 2015-16 under the midday meal scheme. By selling these sacks at Rs 10 each, the education department would have generated a lump sump Rs 12.7 crore. 

    Queries sent to Sanjay Kumar, additional chief secretary of education department, are still awaiting a response.

  • Bihar to count children of babus studying in government schools

    Express News Service
    PATNA:  The education department in Bihar, at the instance of the Patna High Court, has started collecting data on the number of wards of state-cadre officers of IAS, IPS and other class-I and II services enrolled in the state-run government schools. The purpose of the exercise is apparently to ensure that the official machinery takes steps to improve the condition of government schools in the state.

    A single-judge bench of the high court headed by Justice Anil Upadhyaya had recently sought details on the number of officers who have enrolled their children in government schools. Sanjay Kumar, additional chief secretary, education department, has written to district magistrates and the superintendents of police of all 38 districts of Bihar to provide relevant details. The officers have to respond before August 4.

    Chief Secretary Tripurari Sharan is likely to review the details of the database before it is submitted to the court. Kumar has also issued guidelines to all district education officers (DEOs) to help in preparing the data. Justice Upadhyaya, while hearing a petition on the removal of guest teachers, had remarked that unless top officers’ children study in government schools, there will be no visible improvement in the state education system.

    The state has 209 IAS officers and 219 IPS officers, besides thousands of class-I and II officers.  According to official figures, Bihar has 72,663 government schools, including 42,573 primary, 25,587 upper primary, 2,286 secondary and 2,217 senior secondary schools.