A new app to mark the attendance of students and teachers; using Google Sheets to record the number of students present for midday meals; directing employees at the Patna headquarters not to wear jeans and T-shirts; and conducting multiple inspections at schools – these are among a host of reforms introduced by the Bihar Education Department in the last two months after senior IAS officer K K Pathak took charge as its additional chief secretary (ACS). A row has since broken out between state Education Minister Chandra Shekhar and the ACS, with the former said to be upset with the latter for purportedly not taking him into confidence regarding some of these decisions. The row became public last week with the minister’s office and department officials exchanging letters criticising each other. On Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked the minister and the ACS to “work in close coordination”, and to sort out any differences at the appropriate forum instead of taking matters to the media. Apart from irking the minister, the ACS’s initiatives have also put government teachers on their toes. While some complained that the moves were bringing about too much government interference, others felt the initiatives would help in exposing teachers to new technology, improving the quality of midday meals, and increasing the attendance of teachers and students. Here are the new initiatives introduced in more than 65,000 primary and middle schools in Bihar: Midday meal numbers on Google Sheets While previously, the number of students present at midday meals was to be recorded via daily phone calls to block headquarters, teachers must now enter the numbers in Google Sheets besides confirming it over the phone. Midday meal ration allocation is calculated on the basis of the number of students present. Multiple inspections, including by officials not from the education dept Schools are now being inspected twice a week, as opposed to the previous system in which the block education officer (BEO) would conduct monthly inspections. Apart from the twice-a-week inspections, the BEO can also carry out random inspections at any time. The state programme officer has also been directed to carry out random inspections, preferably every month. During the inspections, a set of entries must be made regarding the number of teachers and students present, the number of students taking the midday meal, the status of toilets and hand pumps, among others. Besides these officials, panchayat seva and data entry operators working at block headquarters have been also inspecting the schools. An app to mark attendance The department has introduced the e-Shikshakosh app through which the attendance of teachers and students can be marked. The system of physical attendance will continue as usual and the numbers are expected to match with the attendance marked on the app. This is aimed at addressing complaints regarding the fudging of teachers’ and students’ attendance. Empanelling retired teachers Schools have been asked to prepare a block-wise list of retired teachers who can be appointed at cluster resource centres (CRC) and as block resource persons (BRP) to collect primary school data and forward it to block education officers and other senior officials. Distribution of kitchen equipment to schools The state government has been distributing sets of kitchen equipment, comprising all required utensils, to schools. So far, 52,000 schools have received the sets. Schools were previously required to purchase their own utensils. No jeans and T-shirts at the education department offices The education department has directed its employees not to wear jeans and T-shirts to their offices. The Bihar government does not have a particular dress code for employees.
