It's 2024 And Bihar Government Hasn't Been Able To Figure Out State School Timings Yet

On 20 February 2024, Bihar’s Higher Education Director Gopal Prasad released a notification regarding school timings in the state. From existing 8 hours per day, the timings have been trimmed to 6 hours per day. Instead of 9 am, teachers have to report at 10 am, while their departure time has been changed from 5 pm to 4 pm. 

However, considering the way in which the education department has been running in Bihar, there is reason to believe that these timings may change in the future.

Where it all began

The genesis of the problem lies in the Education Department’s notification dated 28 November 2023. At that time, Chandra Shekhar from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was the education minister of Bihar.

The 2023 notification included a model time table for Bihar schools. It included elaborate descriptions of period timings as well as specific slots for activities. 

-School timing was fixed from 9 am to 5 pm

-Timing of period bells had been fixed

-Specific slots for prayers, drills, sports and Yoga were allotted

-Teachers had to conduct special classes between 3:30 pm to 4:15 pm

-From 4:15 pm to 5 pm, homework had to be checked

Students and parents often complained about public school teachers not doing their job properly, despite getting handsome salaries. On social media, Bihar often became a subject of ridicule due to vloggers exposing the incompetency of teachers in public schools in Bihar. The timetable notification was seen as a step towards resolving that issue.

Not acceptable to teachers

But, the solution seemed unfeasible in practice. In Bihar, teachers often travel from one district to another for teaching. This requires at least one hour of travel time. For these teachers, reaching school before 9 am and teaching till 5 pm was considered taxing.

An uproar followed and soon turned political. On 20 February 2024, few members in the Bihar Assembly protested against these ‘inhumane timings’. Responding to their objections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the school timings will be changed to 10 am to 4 pm.

''I will immediately call the competent officer of the department and will direct him to change the timings. You (opposition members) should have told me earlier. Now the new timings will be from 10 am to 4 pm,'' said Nitish Kumar.

The notification of changed timing was released a few hours after Nitish’s announcement.

Another confusion

The new timings should have come as a relief for both teachers and students. However, according to Additional Chief Secretary KK Pathak, this timing is only for students. Teachers will have to report to school at 9 am and cannot leave before 5 pm.

After KK Pathak’s declaration on teachers’ timings, teachers are gearing up for a new round of struggle. CM Nitish Kumar will likely need to issue another clarification.