Pay scale for 1.78 lakh teachers to be appointed through BPSC finalised

Bihar government’s high-powered committee has finalised a better pay scale for the new lot of 1.78 lakh teachers to be appointed through the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), people familiar with the matter said. The proposal will likely be tabled before the cabinet on Tuesday, they said.

Though the pay scale is significantly higher than the currently working over 3.5 lakh teachers who were appointed through the Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) and urban local bodies (ULBs) since 2006, it is lower than the old prescribed pay scale for teachers, under which around 60,000 still remain in service.

The government had taken a policy decision to make it a dying cadre after it started appointments through PRIs and ULBs.

Also Read: Bihar cabinet nod for teachers’ recruitment under new rules, 4% DA hike

Under the new recruitment process, primary teachers (class 1-5) will have a basic salary of Rs.25,000 and the gross with dearness, house rent and medical allowances will come to around Rs.38,000, while for middle schools (class 6-8) the gross salary with Rs.28,000 basic will be around Rs.42,000.

Similarly, the gross salary will cross Rs.46,000 for the teachers appointed in secondary schools (class 9-10) having a basic of Rs.31,000. For higher secondary (class 11-12), the gross will be around Rs.48,000 with a basic Rs.32,000.

The appointment of 1.78 lakh teachers will cost the exchequer Rs.106,23 crore. For the existing list of teachers appointed through the BPSC, there will be an option to take the uniform exam for an upgrade to get the status of government employees, said the people.

With the chief minister Nitish Kumar-led cabinet giving its nod to the new teachers’ recruitment rules earlier this month, decks were cleared for the long-pending recruitment of teachers in Bihar. After the cabinet nod to the pay scale, the government will advertise the posts.

The new recruitment rules provide for the appointment of teachers through a central process as the current process of appointment through Panchayati Raj institutions is marred with controversy. The teachers will now be recruited through a commission which will be constituted in due course.

The number of vacancies identified includes 85,477 in primary schools, 1,745 in middle schools, 33,186 in secondary schools and 57,618 in higher secondary schools. All the posts existing with the PRIs and ULBs were surrendered and created under the education department.

Also Read: No change in new recruitment policy: Nitish

This is a major policy shift of the Nitish Kumar-led government, which had stuck with the appointments through PRIs and ULBs all through since 2006, despite concerns expressed over quality and controversies surrounding the alleged doctoring of documents landing in the Patna high court. The vigilance probe is on under high court monitoring for the last seven years.

In the election year, the appointment of 1.78 lakh teachers is in keeping with the Grand Alliance government’s announcement to give at least 10 lakh jobs. The Rashtriya Janata Dal made joblessness a big issue during the 2020 state assembly election.