By Neeraj Kumar
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar distributed appointment letters to 1,14,138 special teachers at a programme held in the Convention Hall, Patna, on Wednesday. The event saw the presence of key dignitaries, including Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, Education Minister Sunil Kumar, Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, and Energy Minister Vijendra Prasad Yadav.
In his address, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar highlighted the government’s commitment to improving education and health since coming to power in November 2005. “When we took office, we prioritised education, health, and infrastructure development. We ensured safety even at night and worked diligently to advance education,” he said.
The Chief Minister lauded the progress in teacher competency assessments, recalling that the initiative began in 2006. “It is satisfying to see that those appointed earlier have now passed the competency tests,” Kumar added.
Education Minister Sunil Kumar revealed that, at the event, the Chief Minister personally handed over appointment letters to 200 teachers, while officials in other districts distributed letters to the remaining appointees. These teachers, now recognised as state employees, include 98,349 primary teachers, 12,524 secondary teachers, and 3,265 higher secondary teachers.
Meanwhile, the state government has temporarily paused the teacher transfer policy. Transfers will resume after five phases of competency examinations, as announced by the Education Minister on 19 November. The decision aligns with a Patna High Court directive to clarify the transfer process.
Bihar currently employs approximately 3,85,000 teachers across primary to higher secondary schools. Of these, about 1,87,000 have passed the competency test, and 1,14,000 teachers received their appointment letters after document verification. The remaining will receive theirs once the verification process is complete.
The government had initiated steps for transferring teachers who had cleared the competency test, including online applications, but both the court and the administration decided to defer the process for now.
