Bihar Education System Spoiling Future Generation, Says Patna High Court

The education system in Bihar is spoiling the future generation and it will only improve if all the government officials are compelled to send their children to state-funded schools and colleges, the Patna High Court on Thursday said in a scathing order in which it stayed the cancellation of recruitment of non-permanent teachers in Purnia.

Justice Anil Kumar Udadhyay, hearing the petition of the teachers, expressed concerns at the quality of education imparted in the state, and said the state should put its "derailed education system on track" by imparting quality instruction to the children of poor people.

"The manner in which petitioners have been terminated manifests that in the state of Bihar, rule of law is only a slogan not to be acted upon. What is worrying this court is not the manner in which petitioners have been condemned and their service has been discharged without compliance of principle of natural but the resultant effect of such arbitrary action," the court said in the order.

Contending that guest teachers cater to the "crying need" of teachers in the system, the court said it appears "no one is serious about the problems of the education system".

"It appears that the system is only spoiling the future generation as only formality of school education is done in this state."

"The system cannot be improved so long the officials are allowed to educate their wards outside the State of Bihar. The system can only be improved if all the officials of the State are compelled to keep their wards in the Government run Educational Institutions; only then the officials will see the upliftment of the standard of education," the order read.

The court further said the guest teachers were terminated at the cost of students studying in government-run educational institutions, and that someone needs to take responsibility for this.

In 2016, a huge cheating scandal had rocked the state when few of the toppers of the Class 12 state board exam couldn't answer elementary questions asked by reporters. Two students were arrested over the incident.