Teachers to protest Bihar govt's directive to monitor liquor consumption

Teachers associations in Bihar will, on Sunday, protest against the Nitish Kumar-led government's directive to keep a vigil on the liquor consumption and sale in their areas and inform the officials concerned on toll free numbers.

Bihar Parivartankari Shikshak Sangh (BPSS) has announced to hold a protest against the directive on Sunday.

According to an official spokesperson of BPSS, the government should remove the burden of non academic works from the shoulders of teachers. Fresh directive to keep an eye on liquor operation could become genocide for teachers and their families.

"In Bihar, when police and secret agencies and other law enforcement agencies have been failing to stop operations of liquor mafias in the state, how can an unarmed teacher combat them. The education department directive attributes to mass murder of teacher fraternity in the state," he added.

Ashwani Pandey, the spokesperson for TET-STET teachers association said: "Bihar education minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, through such a directive, is forcing teachers and their families to jump into the death furnace."

He pointed out that the state education department has a track record of assigning teachers such tasks in the past also. The department has also asked teachers to sell cotton bags of rice, pulses and other things in the past. These forcible acts mean humiliation for the teacher community.

"We have decided to go on agitation and we will set the papers of direction on fire in the district headquarters, blocks and Gram Panchayats of Bihar," Pandey said.

The opposition leaders sharply reacted on this issue and said that Nitish Kumar government is desperate to make liquor ban successful.

Shivanand Tiwari, the RJD vice-president said: "People are laughing at such directives. First DGP and chief secretary rank officers searched for liquor bottles and now teachers have been given assignments to prevent liquor operation in the state. CM Nitish Kumar, through such directives, has become a laughing stock.

Nitin Nabin, the road construction minister of Bihar said: "Such a directive will help to make liquor ban successful in the state. The teachers have been given the responsibility to remove social evil like liquor consumption from the state and it is a good decision."

Sanjay Kumar, the additional chief secretary of the education department has written a letter dated January 28, 2022 to deputy directors of all zones, district education officers, and district education officers of primary, middle and higher secondary schools of Bihar.

He has directed the officers to further communicate to principals, teachers, contract teachers and teachers of Madrasas and ask them to collect the information about consumption of liquor, manufacturing units, smuggling, transportation and other operations of mafias in their respective jurisdictions and informed on toll free numbers of liquor prohibition department.

"We have issued two cell phone numbers 9473400378 and 947300606 and toll free numbers 18003456268/15545 for them. We will keep the identity of teachers completely secret," Sanjay Kumar said.

"We have also directed the teachers to not allow any person to use school premises for consuming liquor," he said.