Only 7 Physics teachers in Bihar's 3,500 govt schools

Guess why nearly 70% students from the science stream failed in the Bihar intermediate examination this year?
Believe it or not, but there are only seven teachers for physics in 3,500 Plus Two government schools in the state.

Incidentally, these seven teachers are posted in Patna, which essentially means that in 37 of 38 districts in Bihar, there is no one to teach the subject to Plus Two students.

According to statistics published in a vernacular daily, there are 205 teachers for biology, 296 for chemistry, 176 for mathematics and 876 teachers for political science.

Of the seven teachers, three are appointed on a regular basis, while the remaining four are employed on a contract. Those working as permanent staff are Karunesh, Subhash Chandra Singh and Akhilesh Jha, and have been teaching physics at Patliputra School, Patna Collegiate and Miller High School, respectively, since 1989.

The other four are posted either in Patna or nearby areas within the district.

An educationist said on Wednesday that nobody applies for a physics teacher’s post these days. “The universities, which produce physics teachers, are itself in a shambles. Obviously, the ‘product’ is not competent enough to qualify for the Secondary Teachers Eligibility Test (STET),” the assistant professor told DH.

Notably, a candidate has to clear STET before being appointed as a teacher in the respective subject.

“Another major flaw is that STET has not been conducted in Bihar since 2011. In 2011, only four people applied for the post of Physics teacher. Of these, three were appointed on contract in 2012, while the fourth got his appointment letter in 2017,” a source said.