In biggest-ever mass appointments, Nitish Kumar to give letters to 1.10 lakh teachers

Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Patna, Nitish Kumar said, “Thursday is a big day for us. We are not bothered about what our opponents have to say about the teachers’ appointment process. It has been a fair selection process”.

The CM was reacting to the BJP’s comment that the government was “rushing through teachers’ appointments without completing the document verification process”. Former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi had also alleged that several teachers from around the Phulpur area of Uttar Pradesh had been selected.

The JD(U)’s UP unit had recently requested Nitish Kumar to contest the Phulpur seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The education department has asked district education officers and district superintendents of education to ensure all selected candidates are present at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan to receive appointment letters from the CM.

About 1.20 lakh teachers were recently selected against vacancies of 1.7 lakh teachers for Class 1, Class 5 and Classes 9 to 12 taken out by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).

Before this, about 42,000 teachers for Class 1 to Class 8 were selected in 2022. But mass appointment letters were not given.

The BPSC had conducted a two-paper qualifying examination for the candidates. While candidates applying for the posts of primary teachers wrote the language and General Studies papers, those for Class 9 took language and subject papers.

The highlight of this mass selection includes the selection of over 57,000 women teachers and the government’s priority to provide teachers in upgraded rural secondary and higher secondary schools in rural areas.

The Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government has been taking mass distribution of appointment letters to teachers as a formidable electoral plank towards the fulfilment of its promise to give 20 lakh jobs before the conclusion of the current term of the government.

A senior RJD leader said: “When we joined the government in August 2022, our leader and deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, who had promised 10 lakh jobs in 2020 polls, had impressed upon the CM to make it the top priority of the government”.

In 2013-14, the state government had appointed about 1.25 lakh teachers in a phased manner. The Nitish Kumar government has appointed about 5 lakh teachers since 2007.