Chief minister Nitish Kumar at the function in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday announced various sops and schemes for schoolteachers and students to revive the ailing education sector, particularly in Urdu medium institutions.

Addressing a Teachers’ Day function organised by the education department at SK Memorial Hall, he said every primary school in the state would have Urdu teachers.

“There would be a separate drive to recruit Urdu teachers. We have successfully completed the recruitment of Urdu teachers at schools through Teachers’ Eligibility Test. If schools have vacancies for Urdu teachers, they will be filled up through proper appointments. Urdu is the second official language of the state,” Nitish said.

The other sops announced by the CM included a pension scheme for teachers. The education department signed a memorandum of understanding with Unit Trust of India on Wednesday, paving the way for pension for teachers working on a fixed pay scale. As part of the scheme, Rs 200 will be deducted from the salary of a teacher. The state government, on its part, will pay Rs 200, which will be deposited in the pension account of a contractual teacher.

Nitish also announced schemes related to assessment of primary students and schools. The assessment report, which consists of students’ academic improvement and learning abilities, will be filled by the teachers. On the other hand, schools would be assessed on parameters such as percentage of student attendance, number of new admission in a month and existing infrastructure facilities.

Education minister P.K. Shahi said: “Attendance of students in government schools is a major concern and we are working to improve it.”

While the CM was announcing schemes, more than 200 teachers under the banner of Niyojit Shikshak Nyaya Morcha staged a hunger strike barely 500m away in protest against the state government and the education sector.

Sujata Kumari, a contractual teacher working at Adampur Government Primary School, said: “The CM’s present and earlier announcements are insignificant. There are many contractual teachers who are more qualified than their regular counterparts.”