Bihar: Education department officials directed not to withhold salary of teachers

PATNA: The Patna high court recalled its previous order of June 22 to the state finance secretary to withhold the salaries of top officers of the education department, ranging from principal secretary to the district education officers, after its additional chief secretary (ACS), Dipak Kumar Singh, assured the court on Monday that no teacher will be deprived of salary on the grounds of qualification or any complaint pending, unless any departmental enquiry is initiated against the erring teacher, in accordance with law.
The single bench of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, while hearing a batch of writ petitions, including that of Umesh Kumar Suman and others, had expressed its displeasure over the "blind eyes having been turned by these officers" on the plight of schoolteachers in Bihar, who were teaching without getting any salary for the last four years on the ground of qualification disputes.
The ACS (education) also orally assured the court to constitute grievance redressal forums for the teachers in every district. Granting four weeks time for that, the HC directed him to furnish an action taken report on the next hearing of this matter on August 17.
The ACS on Monday directed all the district programme officers (establishment) to ensure that in no case of a teacher's salary is withheld if he has performed his duties as per rules.
Referring to the Patna HC's interim order on June 22 (CWJC 7648/2020), the ACS pointed out that under no circumstances, except in absence of the allocation of grants, the salary payment of a teacher can be stopped. It would be the duty of the district programme officers (nodal officers) to dispose of any case relating to teachers' salary payment at the earliest even on days other than the date fixed for the monthly camp (i.e. first Saturday of every month) for disposal of teachers' pending cases.
He further pointed out that despite the high court or competent authority's orders, teachers are being prevented from entering the school or signing the attendance register. It must be clear to all that unless there is some stay or modification in the orders of the court or competent authority, no teacher can be prevented from signing the attendance register and performing his or her duties. Besides, it should also be clearly understood that without any legally valid disciplinary action or written order of the competent authority, a teacher can't be prevented from entering the institution or signing his attendance in the register only on verbal order.
Singh further directed the nodal officers to dispose of all the pending salary payment cases within the next 15 days in the light of the department's earlier letter dated July 8 and ensure that not a single case of payment of salary of teachers for the period of their work is withheld.
They would have to submit to the department a certificate to this effect latest by July 26 as the department is supposed to submit an affidavit to the high court before the next hearing of the writ petition, the letter added.