By IANS,
Patna : Salaries of teachers of government schools in Bihar will not be paid if they failed to ensure at least 75 percent attendance of their students, officials said Friday.
Concerned over low attendance in government schools across the state, the Nitish Kumar government is planning to issue a circular to principals of the schools to ensure at least 75 percent attendance.
“The salaries of teachers would be held back if attendance in the school is below 75 percent,” Ajit Kumar, an official of the education department, said.
Additional Commissioner, Human Resource Development department, K.K. Pathak said the government was serious about ensuring a higher percentage of attendance in schools and principals had been asked to ensure at least 75 percent attendance.
Pathak said the responsibility of maintaining attendance would be on teachers and they could face action if the percentage dipped below 75 percent.
Last month the government had offered Rs. 1 per day to poor children to encourage them to attend school and raise literacy levels, officials said.
Bihar’s literacy rate is currently just 47 percent against the national average of 64.84 percent, as per the 2001 census.
Officials admitted that attendance in schools was less than 60 percent.