K K Pathak: The IAS Officer Claiming To Fix Bihar's Education System

A viral video has caused political controversy in Bihar. This features Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s favourite bureaucrat, K K Pathak. In the video, Pathak is allegedly amending the instructions passed by the Chief Minister himself. 

The issue took Bihar Assembly by storm. Leaders from Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Left parties protested against Pathak, the officer in charge of the education department of the state. The demands for his removal from additional chief secretary's post intensified, but Chief Minister Kumar came to his defence, terming Pathak as an honest officer.

K K Pathak And Controversies

Pathak is not alien to controversies. In his 33 years of service, Pathak has donned many hats, taken 'unpopular' decisions, been called 'abrasive' and an 'autocrat' and invited the ire of many, mostly politicians.

Pathak became an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer at the age of 22 in 1990. His foray into Bihar’s administrative setup came in 1996, when Pathak invited a sanitation worker to inaugurate a hospital built with MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) fund.

In the same decade, Pathak wanted to bulldoze the ancestral home of his current boss Kumar. According to a report by The Print, Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was at the peak of his power then, was forced to transfer him, rather than make him change his decision. 

Nitish Kumar’s Favorite Bureaucrat

When Kumar became chief minister in 2005, he appointed Pathak as managing director of Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA). Pathak also served as chief managing director of Bihar Housing Board.

Over the years, Kumar developed such a trust in Pathak that the latter was asked to head the Excise Department in the wake of liquor ban in Bihar. The strict rules put in place for implementing the ban are Pathak’s brainchild.

In June 2023, Pathak was given the responsibility of improving the dilapidated education system in Bihar.

Within nine months, the department has released more than 200 order letters. At the same time, Pathak's ‘all or nothing’ approach has ruffled feathers of teachers, principals, university professors, chancellors, former education minister Chandra Shekhar and even the Raj Bhavan.

In Pathak's defence, he can always say that the state of education in Bihar requires a heavy-handed approach. Despite Kumar’s attempt to bring structural change during his ‘sushasan days’, Bihar hasn’t shown any great improvement in education. The impact of mid-day meals, bicycles for girls, and free uniforms and bags has reached its limit and cannot make a more significant difference.

When the government went for increasing facilities for teachers, it only resulted in a massive increase in competition for teacher’s jobs without having any significant effect on learning outcomes. Teachers would arrive at school at irregular hours, often one-two hours later than the regular time. They would then mark their attendance and engage in some minimal teaching before the final bell rang. There was little to no oversight on it. 

Policing The Education Sector

Pathak’s previous record made him an appropriate choice for introducing a policing approach in the education system of Bihar. Pathak set up an oversight regime, using an amalgamation of state power and technology.

A slew of strict regulations has been implemented for government school teachers in Bihar. They are now mandated to reside in the villages they teach, with transfers banned. Negligence is met with harsh consequences, including salary deductions and suspensions.

A dress code prohibiting casual attire has been imposed, and fixed timings are enforced with disciplinary action for non-compliance. To monitor their attendance, an online system is being rolled out across all schools, aiming for complete coverage soon.

Pathak also began sudden inspections of schools. Most of the time, these inspections were pre-planned, but not pre-declared. On his visits, Pathak himself talks to students, tests teacher’s knowledge, and makes inquires about facilities with the staff. These visits have resulted in issuance of more than 100 letters to district magistrates, district education officials and other officials.

Additionally, a war room to receive complaints of any malfeasance in any school has been set up in Bihar’s secretariat. Reportedly, the complaint needs to be resolved in two days.

Apart from human resource management, Pathak has also issued orders that no student will sit on the floor. In October 2023, more than 15,000 schools of Bihar did not have benches and desks even as more than Rs 1,090 crore of funds sat unutilised. Pathak got Rs 200 crore more sanctioned from Kumar government to ensure better quality of benches and desks.

Coaching classes during school and college hours have also been banned. Teachers have been asked to adopt five students for a performance enhancing programme named 'Daksh'. Alternatively, the department has arranged coaching for engineering and other competitive exams in government schools.

Pathak’s letter to DMs read, “Lack of teachers in secondary and higher secondary schools is a major reason why students are going to coaching institutes… The department is enlisting certain institutions… which will take science, mathematics, English and computer classes at fixed rates… and will be paid for by the department.”

These changes have at least set the ball rolling in Bihar’s education domain.

To begin with, the amount of the underutilised corpus has come down. Money is now being spent on availing facilities like lab equipment, better quality sitting arrangements, cleanliness in school. More and more teachers are reporting on time, causing increased student presence. 

These are still early days to judge Pathak’s tenure. “You won’t see the effects of Pathak Sir today. The real impact will be felt after half a decade when kids studying under his tenure will move ahead in life, thanking their stars for better school education,” said a student contacted by this writer.

As expected, such rapid changes have not gone without friction.

Run-Ins With Politicians

Pathak is often accused of bypassing political authority to impose his ideas. RJD leader Chandra Shekhar, education minister in the previous coalition government of JD(U)-RJD, often complained about it to Kumar. Reports said that Pathak had banned his secretary from entering the department. To protect Pathak, Kumar is said to have fought with RJD too.

Not just the ministry, Pathak is also accused of ignoring the Raj Bhavan on certain occasions.

— On 16 June 2023, the education department asked state universities to not introduce a four-year degree course which was approved by the Governor.

— In August 2023, the department withheld salaries of VC and pro-VC of B R Ambedkar Bihar University. In the same month, the education department invited applications for appointment of five VCs in different state universities, despite an earlier invitation to the same effect by Raj Bhavan.

All three decisions were later overturned by the Governor.

Anti-Hindu?

In August 2023, the education department released a new set of holidays for schools. Opening schools on Hindu festivals like Janmastami, Teej, Jitiya and Guru Nanak Jayanti became compulsory. Holidays during Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath were also cut down. Interestingly, Islamic festivals were not touched.

Sushil Kumar Modi, former deputy chief minister of Bihar had told Swarajya that the revised holiday list was yet another example of "anti-Hindu policies being pursued by the Nitish Kumar government to appease Muslims”. Pathak was considered the brain behind the policies.

Nitish Kumar sees Pathak as a valuable asset. Some teachers view him as strict and authoritarian, while others eagerly take selfies with him. Some see him as a bureaucrat who can navigate bureaucratic challenges. History and the future of children studying in Bihar's schools will eventually provide the ultimate verdict on Pathak's policies and approach.