ISSN: 0974-2735

BIHAR JOURNAL OF
New Series PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Vol. XX, No. 2 (S)
(A Bi-Annual Refereed Research Journal of IIPA Bihar Regional Branch, Patna)
(Placed in UGC-CARE Reference List of Quality Journals, S.Sc.)

Vol. XX No. 2 (S) July-Dec., 2023

Editor
R.K. Verma

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON BIHAR

Indian Institute of Public Administration

Bihar Regional Branch, Patna
 Indian Institute of Public Administration
Bihar Regional Branch, Patna

Executive Council

Chairman : Shri Vijoy Prakash, IAS (retd.)

Vice - Chairmen : Professor Saroj Kumar Verma

Professor Jitendra Narayan
Dr. Nihora Prasad Yadav
Dr. Binod Kumar Jha

Secretary : Dr. Ravindra Kumar Verma

Treasurer : Prof. Archana Kumari

Joint Secretary : Dr. Dilip Kumar

: Dr. Rajesh Kumar

Executive Members : Shri Anand Vardhan Sinha, IAS (retd.)

Dr. Henna Tabassum
Dr. Kavita Kumari
Dr. Nishant Kumar

About the IIPA, Bihar Regional Branch, Patna

On the recommendation of Paul H. Appleby, the then Prime Minister Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru
established the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) on March 29, 1954 with its
HQ at IP Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi- 110 002 under the supervision of DoPT,
Government of India. Its main aim is to equip the public servants with knowledge, skills
and behaviour required for managing the tasks of governance. Bihar Regional Branch,
commenced in the year 1961, is one of the 22 regional branches in India as part of the apex
body of IIPA with an objective to undertake activities in furtherance of discipline of Public
Administration and good governance. The Branch has five pronged activities like -
research/evaluation studies, seminar / conferences / workshops etc., training / orientation /
awareness programmes, collaboration with governmental & non-governmental agencies
and publication of Journal, books, Monographs etc.
Website: www.iipabiharbranch.org
E-mails: [email protected]; [email protected]
Mob No.: 7762882579, 9473431548, 9693781950
New Series ISSN: 0974-2735

Vol. XX, No. 2 (S) July-Dec., 2023

BIHAR JOURNAL OF
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
( A Bi-annual Refereed Research Journal of IIPA Bihar Regional Branch, Patna)
(Placed in UGC-CARE Reference List of Quality Journals, Social Sciences)

Editor
Prof. R.K. Verma

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON BIHAR

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Bihar Regional Branch
Vermas, Shiva Path, New Purendrapur, Patna 800 001
 Editorial Board
Chief Editor
Professor S.P. Shahi,
Vice Chancellor, Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya
Editor
Prof. Ravindra Kumar Verma
Joint Editors
Dr Bakshi Amit Kumar Sinha
(CEP&PF, under GoB, Patna)
Dr Sangeeta Vishwanath (GWC, Guljarbagh, Patna)
Members
Prof. Sushma Yadav,  Prof. Rash Bihari Prasad Singh
(Prof. of Pol. Sc., Pro VC, Central Univ., Haryana) (Prof. of Geography and Former VC, Patna Univ., Patna)
Haryana and Member UGC) 
Prof. Suresh Mishra Shri Anand Vardhan Sinha, IAS (R)
(Prof. IIPA, New Delhi) (Former, Chairman, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Bihar)
Dr. Ravi Kumar Sinha Dr. Navanit Sinha
Prof. of English & Principal, R.N. College, Hajipur) (Former Member EC, IIPA, New Delhi)
Prof. S.S. Patagundi Prof S.P. Singh
(Former HoD, Pol. Sc., Karnataka Univ.,  (Dean, social Sciences,
Dharwad, Karnatak) Chankya National Law University, Patna)
Prof. Binoy Soren Prof. Ram Ranbir Singh
Professor & Head, Former Dean of the faculty of Social Sciences,
Univ. Dept. of Pol. Sc., Patna University, Patna VKSU & Editor, Review of Politics)

SUBSCRIPTION RATES
INLAND FIVE YEARS TWO YEARS SINGLE COPY
Institution `8,500 `4,000 `1,200
Individual `7,000 `3,500 `1000
Students* - `3,500 `1000
Foreign (Except Nepal)
Institutional US $200 US $20 US $10
Individual US $150 US $15 US $07

Correspondence for subscription and editorial should be made to the Editor Dr. R.K. Verma, Shiva
Path, New Purendrapur, Patna–800 001. Contact: e-mails: <[email protected]>, <bjpa2004@
gmail.com>, Mob. Nos. 9473431548, 7762882579. Payments may be made through Bank DD/Cheque
drawn in favour of IIPA BIHAR REGIONAL BRANCH, payable at Patna or through RTGS/NEFT
– Beneficiary: IIPA BIHAR REGIONAL BRANCH
A/C No. 000234005002918 IFSC: YESB0BSCB01 Bank: Bihar State Cooperative Bank Ltd,
Branch: New Secretariat, Patna.
Website<www.iipabiharbranch.org>
Note: Views expressed in articles/reviews/notes published in the Journal are the personal opinions of
the respective authors; neither of IIPA, Bihar Regional Branch nor of the editors.
Note:* Students are require to furnish the certificate of studentship or recommendation of the head/
authorized faculty member of the institution.
© IIPA Bihar Regional Branch, Patna
 From the Desk of the Chief Editor
I have immense pleasure to present before the readers the Vol. XX No. 2 (S), July-
December, 2023 Issue of Bihar Journal of Public Administration. The readers
may appreciate that the Journal is being punctually published amidst tough
conditions caused by lack of proper finances, over stress of large numbers of paper
submissions and strains of management. However, I express my thanks to the
learned contributors, the entire Editorial Team and the anonymous referees for
carrying the venture of publication of Bihar Journal of Public Administration in
regular frequency and that too by maintaining quality. I, in personal capacity as
Vice Chancellor of Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya, commit myself to facilitate the
regular publication of the Journal by involving institutions of higher education,
falling in this part of the state.
In the last two decades, the Journal has travelled across rudimentary hurdles
to reach the stage of recognition of UGC-CARE. I hope the sensible academicians
will realize it. What I noticed during twenty years of its publication is that we are
receiving less number of quality research papers from institutions of our state.
However, the editorial board intends to accommodate the new ideas and issues of
our focus area of research. We prefer to provide space for new ideas and practices
related to Public Administration and allied disciplines, especially covering Bihar.
Finally, I express my thankfulness to the readers who have shown interest in the
Journal and institutions of higher education that have rendered helping hands to
our venture.

– Prof. S.P. Shahi

Chief Editor
Vice Chancellor, Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya
 Editorial
It is matter of immense pleasure that BJPA has completed its twentieth year of
its regular publication. The year 2023 so far has been significant and eventful for
the students of Public Administration and Indian politics. We have received a
substantial number of well researched papers on different aspects of development
administration of Bihar. Thus, it was decided to publish these papers in Special
Supplement on Bihar as the Vol. XX, No. 2 (S), July-December, 2023.
As the agriculture has been the mainstay of economy of Bihar and serves the
largest section of its population (nearly 80 percent), the present supplement of
BJPA contains the examination of Agriculture Road Map of Bihar, irrigation water
management and flood governance of most disastrous river Koshi. Next significant
issue is governance of health service delivery in Bihar. The papers related to the
assessment of reproductive health in the context of menstrual hygiene management,
state of children’s malnourishment and youth perception of pandemic management
in the state of Bihar have been included in the Issue. It contains the examination
of community participation in management of school education through Vidyalay
Siksha Samitis (School Education Committees) in both the normal and pandemic
situations. Governance of Bihar has been gender sensitive, as such the Issue has
accommodated papers examining the share of women in governance and their
empowerment journey in Panchayati Raj Institutions. Further socio-economic
conditions of rural labour, campus psychology in the context of green awareness
and anxiety factors as well as the administration and finances of Atma Nirbhar
Bharat Abhiyan find place in the present Issue.
The IIPA Bihar Regional Branch and the Editorial team express thankfulness
to external support from expert reviewers and the contributors. At last, though
utmost care has been taken to maintain the quality, yet we shall feel obliged, if
suggestions are rendered from readership for improvements in the Journal.

—Editor
 Contents

From the Desk of the Chief Editors iii

Editorialv

1. Agriculture Roadmap of Bihar:

An Analysis of Multi-Sectoral Prospects of the Policy 525-535
Sanjay Kumar Agrawal
2. Groundwater Based Irrigation in Bihar:
Patterns of Utilisation and Recent Policy Thrust 536-553
Rakesh Tiwary
3. Reproductive Health of Girls:
An Analysis of Menstrual Hygiene Management in Bihar 554-560
N. Vijaya Lakshmi
4. Towards a Better Flood Governance in the Koshi River Basin 561-575
Rahul Kumar Yaduka
5. Determinants of Child Malnourishment in Bihar:
Evidence from NFHS-4, 2015-16 576-592
Swastika Satyam
6. Awareness of Green Economy Among Young Minds:
A Study of Students of Management in Bihar 593-602
S.D. Singh, Mohsina Fatima and Poonam Kumari
7. Women in Governance: A Case Study of Bihar 603-615
Anusha
8. Community Participation in Primary Education:
A Study of Vidyalay Shiksha Samitis in Bihar 616-629
Abhyanand, Aditya Mohanty and Priya Ranjan
9. Conditions of Labour of Informal Sector in Bihar:
A Case of Brick Kiln Industry in South Gangetic Plain 630-637
Priyanka Singh and Abinash Narayan
 BJPA New Series Vol. XX, No. 2 (S), July-Dec., 2023 ISSN: 0974-2735

10. Empowerment Journey of Women Representatives in the

Panchayati Raj Institutions of Bihar 638-648
Anuja
11. Factors influencing Women Entrepreneurship in Bihar 649-662
Rachana Vishwakarma
12. Pandemic, Youth and Perception of Government's Role:
A Study in the Context of Bihar 663-673
Nivesh Sharma, Digvijoy Phukan and Gireesh Gourav
13. Role of Vidyalaya Siksha Samiti during Covid-19 Pandemic
A Case Study of Gaya, Bihar 674-682
Sonu Prasad and Anju Helen Bara
14. Personality Dimensions as Predictors of Anxiety in Bihar:
Need of Reforms in Campus Administration 683-689
R B N Sinha, Rupa Lakshmi and Mukta Kumari
15. Uniform Civil Code: A Gender-Sensitive Intervention or a
Political Gimmick? 690-699
Shefali Roy
16. Sustaining Soil Health and Attening Food Security 700-708
Madhurima, Pankaj Kumar and B.P Mishra
17. vkRefuHkZj Hkkjr vfHk;ku dh leh{kk% iz'kkllfud ,oa foÙkh; lanHkZ 709-715
ukft+;k [k+ku ,oa 'kqHke~ tk;loky

viii
 BJPA ISSN: 0974-2735
Vol. XX, No. 2 (S), July-Dec., 2023

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN PRIMARY EDUCATION:

A STUDY OF VIDYALAY SHIKSHA SAMITIS IN BIHAR

Abhyanand*, Aditya Mohanty** and Priya Ranjan***

Abstract
The local community has been delegated substantial rights in the administration of
primary education since the nineties across the country. This article looks into the context
in which the decision for the involvement of the local community (or decentralisation)
has been effectuated by the Government of Bihar. Based on an empirical account, of
the working of Vidyalaya Shiksha Samiti (VSS) or School Education Committee, this
paper points out how the ‘politics of learning’ co-constitutes ‘school space’, thereby
helping us understand the limits to decentralisation.
Keywords: Community Participation, Primary Education, Politics of Learning, School
Education and Niyojit Teacher

INTRODUCTION
The study of primary education is intrinsically linked to the changes in the
structures of governance which went through profound changes in the last decade
of the twentieth century. At the macroeconomic level, the economic crisis of
1991 has been a watershed moment in the history of the country not only for the
economy of the country but also for other sectors as well. Education has been one
such sector. The year was so profound in its impact that it can be considered an

* Abhyanand, Research Scholar, Department of Sociological Studies, Central University of South

Bihar, Gaya
** Aditya Mohanty, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociological Studies, Central University of
South Bihar, Gaya; E-mail: [email protected]
***Priya Ranjan, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociological Studies, Central University of South
Bihar, Gaya
 Abhyanand, Aditya Mohanty and Priya Ranjan

important dividing line for departure in the approach of the government towards
primary education. The 1991 balance of payment crisis forced India to resort to a
loan from the World Bank, while at the same time introducing fiscal reforms aimed
at reducing government expenditure on social sector initiatives. Following this
development, a Social Safety Net Adjustment Credit was offered to India in 1992,
to protect expenditure on the social sector. This was followed by a World Bank
credit for a basic education project in Uttar Pradesh. Thereafter, India continued
to accept external aid for its primary education programmes- including for the
District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)which was launched in 1993 and
the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which was introduced in 2001. Subsequently, the
World Bank became the largest donor for primary education in the country. In due
course of time, these development agencies also nudged the government at various
levels towards the involvement of the community in the management of primary
education.
At the federal political structure level, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional
Amendment Acts were enacted by the Government of India in 1992 which gave new
impetus to the participation of community in the management of primary schools.
Local communities were given substantial power in the implementation of schemes
like DPEP, Lok Jumbish, SSA and others. Through these constitutional amendments
acts right to the management of primary schools and secondary schools were given
to local level bodies. Since then onwards involvement of the local community has
been part and parcel of educational planning at the elementary level. The Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009 details the various
nuances of free and compulsory education for children between the age cohorts
of 6 to 14 years in India. The RTE Act also envisages active participation from
the local community in the management of primary schools. Under the directions
given in the RTE Act, the Government of Bihar made various rules and regulations
for the fulfilment of responsibilities outlined in the Act. One of the important parts
of the process has been the recruitment of teachers on a contractual basis which in
turn points towards the inherent contradictions in the process as the government
at various levels without making substantial provision for the financial aspect of
the issue at hand has tried to find out jugad (a way out) under the garb of involving
community in the administration of primary education. The paper explores
such nuances of the involvement of the local community in the decentralisation
of primary education, as seen through a case study of schools in Jehanabad, a
backward district in the state of Bihar, India.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Decentralisation has gained widespread acceptance and multifaceted expectations
as a result of these factors. Neo-liberal thought began to predominate as a result

617
 BJPA New Series Vol. XX, No. 2 (S), July-Dec., 2023 ISSN: 0974-2735

of widespread criticism of the interventionist state’s inefficiency in the 1980s

(Mohan and Stokke 2000). Decentralisation and privatisation are promoted by this
philosophy, which maintains that “the unrestricted market will produce efficient
and equitable solutions” (ibid: 20). Decentralisation, according to public choice
theorists, is a strategy that delivers something similar to a free market bringing
together ‘customers’ (parents as well as children) and ‘sellers’ (providers of
schooling) in a setting where the former’s many preferences and wishes can interact
with the latter successfully (Rondinelli et al. 1989; Litvack et al. 1998). In this
approach, people are primarily viewed as customers whose demands are best met
by decentralised governance and private businesses. As a result, the state’s function
is condensed to that of promoting the establishment of political, economic, and
community institutions that are supportive of free-market capitalism (Wade
1990). Therefore, decentralisation is also suggested as a way to aid in development
that results from democratisation as well as democratisation as a goal in and of
itself. Advocates contend that better openness, accountability, responsiveness, and
efficiency will be attained as a result of democratic decentralisation since it bolsters
widespread participation as well as greater equity at the local level (Crook and
Manor 1998; Crook 2003). This concept differs from the neo-liberal viewpoint in
that it emphasises the social obligations of citizenship in aiming for communal
well-being rather than the narrow self-interest of individuals. It sees the citizen as a
beacon of civil, political, and social rights.
What was previously the practice in certain states was given tangible and
official expression by the federal recommendations for school policy change that
were incorporated in these guidelines (for example, Bihar and Rajasthan). In 1993,
the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments were adopted, and they served as the
nation’s main legal foundation for political decentralisation. Additionally, it gave
the decentralisation of the education industry more momentum. The establishment
of Vidyalaya Shiksha Samiti (VSS) or School Management Committee and village
education committees with authority for school management and oversight, as well
as, in some circumstances, authority for teacher recruitment and oversight, was one
of the concrete forms that decentralisation took in various states.
The majority of the early decentralisation literature exudes optimism about
the probable results of this reform initiative (Majumdar 2003; Varghese 1996).
However, other material that examines the local operations of VECs discusses
politics. So Wankhede and Sengupta (2005) investigated the operation of four
VECs in West Bengal’s South 24 Pargana area. They discovered that poor people’s
limited ability to confront current power systems limited their ability to participate.
They conclude that the field realities in West Bengal are at odds with the potential
benefits of VECs. Therefore, these village committees were just a weak pressure
group on the ground. Leclercq (2002) notes in a study conducted in rural Madhya

618
 Abhyanand, Aditya Mohanty and Priya Ranjan

Pradesh that the opening of new schools under the Education Guarantee Scheme
(EGS) gave sarpanches new opportunities to manage both the expenditure of funds
(given to the panchayats for this purpose) and the hiring of contract teachers (the
panchayats were given the authority to appoint contract teachers). His statement
that “... decentralisation of teacher recruitment has led to decentralisation of
corruption” refers to the practice of using bribes to appoint contract instructors…”
(Leclercq 2002 p.71).
The operation of VECs was also observed by Corbridge et al. (2005). They
discovered serious barriers to participation and significant limitations to the
committees’ success in advancing education. Upper caste men and the mukhiyas, or
heads of rural panchayats, frequently dominated the VECs. Women and members
of Scheduled Castes (SC) were not aware of their status. Even in cases where SC
men and women actively participated in their VECs, their kids were unable to
go to school. These data lead the authors to the conclusion that the concept that
common villagers might influence educational matters and, in a way, the state was
greatly overemphasised (Corbridge et al. 2005 p. 143). Corbridge and his associates
also discover indications of rent-seeking on the part of the regional state education
bureaucracy. For instance, the district superintendent of education for Bidupur in
the Vaishali districts of Bihar received bribes from teachers. This was done for them
to be transported to the location of their choice, which was frequently outside of
a school, and to avoid being subject to the committee monitoring of instructor
attendance (Corbridge et al. 2005 p. 144). Based on these and other examples,
the authors contend that rather than using rhetorical ideologies of participation,
common impoverished people saw the local state in terms of their every day, daily
contacts. One may conclude that most people continued to view the state from a
distance and through intermediaries, despite much discussion about engagement.
One of the important parts of the process of involvement of the local community
in the management of primary education has been the recruitment of teachers on
a contractual basis which in turn points towards the inherent contradictions in the
process as the government at various levels without making substantial provision
for the financial aspect of the issue at hand has tried to find out jugad (a way out)
under the garb of involving the community in the administration of primary
education. The inherent contradictions which exist in the intention and practice of
the government so far as primary schooling is concerned have been understood as
‘politics of learning’. It can be argued from the above-mentioned accounts of existing
literature that any study which seeks to understand community participation in
primary education sociologically must focus on the ‘politics of learning’ involved
in the primary schooling process. This paper seeks to explore this aspect by looking
into the contestations which exist around the ‘school space’.

619
 BJPA New Series Vol. XX, No. 2 (S), July-Dec., 2023 ISSN: 0974-2735

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Hence this paper aims at exploring the implications of VSS in the remaking of
modalities of community participation. It, therefore, undertakes a case study
approach to bring out the dynamics involved in primary schools of Jehanabad
district. The primary data sources consist of interviews with VSS members, other
EC members at the village panchayat level and educational officials at the Block level
and elected representatives of the village. The paper draws from an empirical study
of VSS and VEC members of thirty primary schools in the district of Jehanabad,
Bihar.
Table 1: Category-wise membership of VSS

Category of Membership to VSS Number

Ward member of the ward (rural/urban) in which the 1
school is situated (ex-officio chairperson)
Head Master or Head Teacher 1
Mothers of students from General Category 2
Mothers of students from Backward Class 2
Mothers of students from Extremely Backward Class 2
Mothers of students from Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe 2
Mother of Disabled Child 1
Chairperson of JEEVIKA 1
Head of Mahila Samakhya 1
Student Representative 2 (each from Bal Sansad and
Meena Manch
Senior most Teacher of the School 1
Donor of land for School 1
Total 17
Source: Compiled by Researcher from BSFCEC Rules 2011
For explorations of various nuances of the modalities of community participation in
primary education, the district of Jehanabad in the state of Bihar has been selected
for field investigation. The selection of field site has been done as per pupil-teacher
ratio, an important educational indicator. The district of Jehanabad with a figure
of 41.2 fares badly in comparison with the state of Bihar’s average at 26.88 and the
national average at 61.58.
There are seven blocks in Jehanabad district, namely, Kako, Modanganj,
Hulasganj, Jehanabad, Makhdumpur, Ghoshi, and Ratni Faridpur. There exists a
Block Resource Centre (BRC) at each Block which is headed by a Block Education
Officer (BEO). For better administration and proper monitoring of various

620
 Abhyanand, Aditya Mohanty and Priya Ranjan

governmental schemes in primary as well as in middle schools, each BRC is further

divided into Cluster Resource Centre (CRC), which is headed by a co-ordinator
called CRCC. Each CRC has its own jurisdiction; they are supposed to monitor
those schools which come under its zone. Towards the end of 2022, the CRC has
been restructured to take into consideration of the cluster-based organisation
approach of different layers of schools as outlined in National Education Policy
(NEP) 2020 in which 10+2 school lies at the top and are considered as CRC and
primary schools in its area comes under it.
There are 353 middle schools and 535 primary schools in the district. Block-
wise distribution of schools is shown in Table 3. Out of the universe of 888 (including
primary schools in the district, thirty primary schools have been selected through
a stratified sampling process from seven blocks of the district. The basis of the
selection of the stratified sampling process lies in the homogenous nature of the
universe of the study since all over the district there is uniformity in the schooling
system. Goode and Hatt (2006) further point out that a homogenous universe
requires a smaller sample than a heterogeneous sample. Out of the thirty primary
schools, twenty-four schools have been selected randomly in equal proportion (i.e.,
four from each) from six blocks viz., Ghoshi, Hulasganj, Kako, Modanganj and
Ratni Faridpur and Jehanabad blocks. Further six schools have been selected from
Makhdumpur by taking into account the fact that a relatively higher number of
primary schools exist in this block in comparison to others. The study is based on
semi-structured interviews with 17 members of the VSS (as outlined in Table 1
above) in each of these thirty primary schools.
Table 3: Block-wise distribution of schools

Name of Blocks Middle Schools Primary Schools

Ghoshi 35 52
Hulasganj 32 49
Jehanabad 66 98
Kako 60 94
Makhdumpur 82 127
Modanganj 30 44
Ratni Faridpur 48 71
Total 353 535
Source: Compiled by the Researcher during field visits to every Block Resource Centre

FINDINGS
This paper looks into the modalities of community participation in primary
education, in light of the two operational research questions, through the workings

621
 BJPA New Series Vol. XX, No. 2 (S), July-Dec., 2023 ISSN: 0974-2735

of Vidyalaya Shiksha Samiti(VSS) of these thirty sampled primary schools. Besides

the members of VSS members, the paper also purposefully takes into account
the views of members of the Education Committee at the village panchayat level
as well as those of educational officials at the Block level. In terms of reforms in
school education, the district of Jehanabad has launched a novel and significant
intervention viz., Padho Jehanabad and Mission Gunvatta. Padho Jehanabad
scheme was implemented with the help of Pratham, a Non-Governmental
Organisation (NGO) which works in the field of Education which is better known
for its Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). This scheme was implemented
simultaneously in East Champaran. In 2012, two districts in the state, Jehanabad
and East Champaran, partnered with Pratham to launch a successful experiment in
improving learning in elementary schools.
The findings of the paper unpack the work modalities of the VSS. In this regard,
responses of various stakeholders such as VSS members, Education Committee
members at the panchayat level and educational officials at the block level have
been sought. In addition to that their views have been further corroborated by the
narratives of the respondents and through observations made during the fieldwork.
Through numerous rules and regulations, PRI bodies at various levels have been
delegated authority to appoint teachers from primary to higher secondary levels.
For example, Village Panchayat was given the power to appoint panchayat teacher
in primary schools (up to class V) which comes under the concerned panchayat
whereas the power to appoint teachers at upper primary or in other words at 6 to 8
level, has been delegated to panchayat samiti which is constituted at a block-level.
Teachers appointed by panchayat samiti are officially known as block teachers. Jila
parishad similarly appoint teachers to secondary and higher secondary schools
which come under its territorial jurisdiction. Similar rules exist for the appointment
of teachers in Nagar panchayat, Nagar parishad and Nagar Nigam. Therefore, it can
be said that there are as many varieties of teachers as are the differentiations of local
governing bodies. But one common thread joins all these teachers, that is, they are
recruited on a contract basis and they are not the employee of state government but
those of different types of PRIs.

PROBLEMS REPORTED BY TEACHERS

During the fieldwork, it was observed that all categories of teachers appointed since
2003 were required to upload their documents on a portal developed by the state
vigilance bureau. One can see the complexity of this recruitment process in the fact
that after spending more than 15 years in service the state government could not
verify the originality of the certificates of niyojit teachers, as revealed by a Head
Master. During discussions, it also came to light that somewhere around 2015 or
2016 establishment bureau of the District Education Office caught fire due to a ‘short

622
 Abhyanand, Aditya Mohanty and Priya Ranjan

circuit’, wherein relevant documents of various categories of teachers got burnt.

Such ‘short circuit’ instances are quite common in Bihar. It is an irony that besides
the educational department, such instances are very common in other departments
of the state as well. Due to the negligence of the district educational office, niyojit
teachers of the district are still under the spectre of the vigilance bureau.
Besides this systemic issue can be read at government level in shape of poor
handling and corrupt practices at the level of PRIs. The parent of a niyojit teacher
lamented that he was discharged by the department on account of an FIR alleging
his appointment on the basis of a false Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) certificate.
When he demanded the certificate using RTI, he received the certificate which was
declared genuine by Vigilance Department. It was also observed during discussions
with educational officials at the block level that the number of genuinely qualified
TET teachers is far less than those employed. Thus it can be said that on account
of the lack of synergies between different departments, niyojit teachers have to face
systemic stigma which percolated down to the community level through various
mass media. The local community were found to be very opinionated regarding
niyojit teacher. Keeping in mind the nitty-gritty of the process of new recruitment
policy for teachers in mind, we now discuss how the local community makes sense
of the day-to-day practices of the schooling process.
Every complaint regarding the operation of the educational system, particularly
its inability to universalise reading and primary education, has been met with
the traditional bureaucratic retort that “teachers don’t teach”. At meetings and
seminars, anecdotal stories about rural teachers subleasing their work or going to
the school only to sign the register were repeated endlessly on a day to day basis. The
numerous non-teaching duties that the government assigns to the village teacher
go unmentioned too. These jobs include everything from counting participants
in surveys of every imaginable kind to working during local, provincial, and
parliamentary elections.
A Head Master revealed that non-teaching responsibilities might take up to 85
of the 150 days that are allotted for academic work during one session. The rhetoric’s
potent appeal that “teachers don’t teach” ignores this fact. Additionally, housing is
a significant issue for teachers hired in villages, particularly women instructors.
Others who attempt to remain in the village, frequently experience physical and
political abuse. Many of them who live outside the villages spend a significant
portion of their working day waiting for buses or travelling while standing.

PROBLEMS REPORTED BY PARENTS AND OFFICIALS

Figure 1 below, encapsulates the responses of three categories of respondents viz,
i) VSS members, ii) panchayat functionaries and iii) educational officials, on three

623
 BJPA New Series Vol. XX, No. 2 (S), July-Dec., 2023 ISSN: 0974-2735

aspects – a) their awareness of appointing authority of new teacher recruitment

policy and b) the capability of niyojit teacher. Across categories, the level of
awareness is reported to be high, with more than fifty percentage points. But it is
lowest among VSS members. This is not quite surprising as the majority of VSS
members are common people who are engaged in their daily chores. They are not
so well versed with the nitty-gritty of the recruitment process. Awareness of the
recruitment process was however found to be high among panchayat functionaries
and educational officials.
Firstly, on the question of ‘qualification’ of appointing authority regarding their
role in ‘new teacher recruitment policy’, VSS members had views contrary to that
of panchayat functionaries and educational officials. Only twenty-four percent of
VSS members do not question the capability of local bodies in the recruitment
process. In fact, it was observed in the fieldwork that they have a common name
‘mukhiya model’ for teachers who are recruited through the process. The common
name ‘mukhiya model signifies both the authority that is directly responsible
for recruitment and the process of decentralized recruitment and the disdain
of ‘mukhiya model’ teachers. Besides these two, the term ‘mukhiya model’ also
associates niyojit teachers with a particular ‘mukhiya’ and by virtue association,
the niyojit teachers are also evaluated on the ‘political’ lines. Interestingly regular
teachers who were recruited through a centralized process have no such common
name. The community members somehow manage to make the recruitment
process ‘legible’.

Figure 1: Responses from three categories of respondents viz, VSS members, panchayat functionaries
and educational officials, on the various aspects of the new recruitment policy

Source: Compiled by the researcher from the field data

624
 Abhyanand, Aditya Mohanty and Priya Ranjan

Secondly, on the question of the capability of niyojit teacher, so far as his ability
to teach students is concerned, VSS members showed considerable doubt as only
forty-four per cent of VSS members consider niyojit or ‘mukhiya model’ teachers
as they are called, worthy of teaching in their own assessment. More than fifty per
cent of VSS members did not consider them good teachers.
This narrative is sociologically significant, as it unearths a lot of socially
important themes which will be helpful in making sense of the internal politics of
the process of community participation in primary education. So far as the issue
of niyojit teacher is concerned, as the teacher was in his thirties (as his last regular
employment was made more than thirty years ago in Bihar), it is highly likely that
he was a niyojit teacher. It depicts the harsh reality of the status of niyojit teacher
among the local community. Besides the status of niyojit teacher in rural society,
the above narrative also points towards the caste-based underpinnings of this
phenomena.
On the surface, it may seem ‘illegible’ to understand, but it clearly brings out
the skewed ‘rules of learning’ in such spaces which puts considerable pressure on
parents to take recourse to private school. The man mentioned as ‘father’ in the
previous narrative (as found out during a discussion with the teachers at the school
aftermath of the incident) belonged to a backward community. He was sending his
children to a local private school which was being run in a single room without
proper ventilation facilities by a man of the same village. This lone so-called faculty
used to multi-task, doing the roles of accountant, teacher, and janitor, all rolled into
one. However, interestingly, in terms of physical as well as human resources, the
government school had far better amenities. Niyojit teachers at the schools were
qualified in state-level elementary teacher eligibility tests, whereas the teacher at
the local private school was not qualified in any such mandatory qualification test.
Despite his disqualification, the locals commanded more trust than better qualified
‘mukhiya model’ niyojit teachers. The respondent was exposed to peer pressure
to arrange for alternate (alias private) schooling for his ward. It did not matter
whether the school had some sort of basic facilities or not. He simply wanted his
child to learn from a private school, though he had enrolled them in a government
school.

DISCUSSION
Thus, it can be argued on the basis of the findings outlined above that the existing
studies ignore the fact that the modalities of community participation in primary
education do not operate in a vacuum. In other words, modalities of community
participation co-constitute the existing social (and educational) structure, and
therefore any study which aims to explore the nuances of the process of community

625
 BJPA New Series Vol. XX, No. 2 (S), July-Dec., 2023 ISSN: 0974-2735

participation in primary education, must take into account the co-constitutive

nature of the phenomena at hand. This paper, therefore, has argued that such a
problematic mode of learning has arisen out of the inherent lacunae in the so-called
decentralised model of community participation that operates in schools of the
rural hinterland.
It can be inferred the Government of Bihar and the Tenth Five-Year Plan
formulated by the Central Government sought to find jugaad (a way out) in
the name of involvement of the community in the administration of primary
education. This highlights the inherent contradiction implicit in the policy design
with a peculiar characteristic of similarity of views of the government at the centre
and state level. As a tool of analysis for the modalities of community participation
in primary education, ‘politics of learning’ has been developed especially to look
into the inherent contradictions implicit in the policy guidelines for the purpose.
Besides this, it has a number of aspects to it. One of the key dimensions of the
‘politics of learning’ is the increasing tendency to turn political problems into
learning problems, thus shifting the responsibility for addressing such problems
from the state and the collective to the level of individuals. One can observe this
fact from the existence of numerous unaffiliated private schools engaged in the
process of primary education despite the fact that RTE Act obliges the state to make
provisions for free and compulsory education for children up to the age of fourteen,
that is, for primary education. The issue is entirely seen as a question of individual
adaptation and adjustment- as a matter of learning and not as one of structural
issues and collective responsibilities. The rise of the economic rationale sketched
as outlined above, as well as the fact that individuals are expected to maintain their
employability in the face of fluctuating global markets, is indicative of this trend. In
this context, not only an individual is feeling pressure from the outside world, but
he or she may also be feeling it from within.
But the reality is that it is a rare instance of a significant change in the State’s
attitude toward teachers and the educational system. The transformation is related
to the numerous adjustments that public policy in various welfare domains has
undergone as a result of the structural adjustment of the Indian economy to the
global capitalist system. But there is a background to it; a background of ‘legal
barriers’ to attempts at decentralisation by State governments. Despite the well-
publicised push to make primary education universal and the accessibility of a
sizable amount of foreign funding in the form of loans and aid, there have been
a lot of openings throughout history. The beginning of this story may be found
in Rajasthan in the 1980s when Shiksha Karmis were chosen from the village’s
unemployed young to work as teachers in the nearby primary school as part of
a programme supported financially by the Swedish International Development
Agency. There were several obvious appeals to the concept. It sounded politically

626
 Abhyanand, Aditya Mohanty and Priya Ranjan

and socially correct to include educated unemployed rural youngsters in primary

education. It promised “community involvement” to those who favoured
decentralisation as a method of systemic reform. The politician saw it as a new
opportunity to allure the big population of disgruntled, unemployed youth. It
provided a creative way for policymakers and bureaucrats to spend less on basic
education. It also provided a chance for anyone who was worried about the state of
education in a broad, general sense to demonstrate to the full-time instructor that
they were not necessary. Following the District Primary Education Programme
(DPEP), which was established at the beginning of the 1990s with support from
a number of other donor organisations and supervision from the World Bank, the
Shiksha Karmi programme attracted considerable attention. The DPEP’s main goals
were to expand the system and raise the standard of training. Since DPEP monies
from outside sources were just a supplement to state funding it was up to the state
governments to fill open positions both now and in the future in accordance with
the accepted hiring practices. But one after another, the State administrations
sought to fill openings while brazenly flouting the DPEP norms.
They opted to make contractual appointments at one-fourth or one-fifth
of the ordinary wage, paid from SSA funds in most cases, rather than full-time
employment in accordance with the standards of permanent service. In order to
conceal the meagre pay and unstable employment, these contract teachers were
given a variety of exotic titles, such ‘Vidya Sahayak’ in Gujarat, ‘Vidya Volunteer’
in Andhra Pradesh, ‘Guruji’ and ‘Shiksha Karmi’ in Madhya Pradesh, and ‘Shiksha
Mitra’ in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Some of them were employed for alternative
schools, which were created for the most underprivileged members of village
community for example Tola Sevak for facilitating and motivating the educational
needs of Mahadalits. The largest programme of this kind was and is Madhya Pradesh’s
‘Education Guarantee Scheme.’ It hasn’t received any criticism for the pitifully basic
amenities it provides; rather, it has been praised for reaching the unreached. The
publicity has been so effective that it ignored the minimum prescriptions of hiring
standards, the inadequate nature of teacher preparation, and the vicious cycle of
exploitation it places primary-level teachers in.

CONCLUSION
Thus what can be surmised from the working of VSS is that although governments
at various levels did try to rationalise their educational reform policies by delegating
the power of management of primary education to the newly constituted local
governance bodies, it paved the way for the mushrooming of schooling systems of
different types – public, private, semi-private, affiliated, non-affiliated, and so on
and so forth. The growing class differentiation in Indian society and the progressive
withdrawal of the State from the education sector made matters worse.

627
 BJPA New Series Vol. XX, No. 2 (S), July-Dec., 2023 ISSN: 0974-2735

It is in this context that this paper has demonstrated the influence of the ‘politics
of learning’ on the praxis of primary schooling. It has also shown how the rise
of decentralised and participatory structures of primary schooling, has been
circumvented through vested interests. In such a scenario, therefore, it becomes
necessary to explore the multiple dimensions of the involvement of the community
in the administration of primary education.

REFERENCES
Brown, D. (1990). Decentralisation and School-based Management. London/New York: The
Falmer Press.
Cheng, K. (1994). Issues in Decentralising Education: Wha the Reform in China Tells.
International Journal of Educational Research (21), 799-808.
Corbridge, S., Williams, G., & Srivastav, M. V. (2005). Seeing the State. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Crook, R. (2003). Decentralisation and Poverty Reduction in Africa: the politics of local central
relations. Public Administration and Development , 23(1), 77-88.
Crook, R. M. (1998). Democracy and Decentralisation in South Asia and West Africa: Participation
Accountability and Performance. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
Cummings, W., & Riddell, A. (1994). Alternative Policies for the Finance, Control and Delivery
of Basic Education. International Journal of Educational Research , 21, 751-776.
Deem, R., Brehony, K., & Heath, S. (1995). Active Citizenship and the Governing of the Schools.
Buckingham: Open University Press.
Dyer, C. (2005). Decentralisation to Improve Teacher Quality? District Institutes of Education
and Training in India. Compare , 35(2), 139-152.
Dyer, C. R. (2005). Decentralisation for educational development? An editorial Introduction.
Compare , 35(2), 105-113.
Fiske, G. (1996). Decentralisation of Education: Politics and Concensus. Washington D.C.: The
World Bank.
Goode, W. J., & Hatt, P. K. (2006). Methods in Social Research. Delhi: Surjeet Publications (Indian
Edition).
Gray, A., & Jetkins, B. (1993). Markets, Managers and the Public Service: The Changing of a
Culture. In P. Taylor-Gooby, & R. Lawson, Markets and Managers: New Issues in the Delivery
of Welfare (pp. 9-23). Buckingham: Open University Press.
Lauglo, J., & McLean, M. (1985). The control of Education: International Perspectives on the
Centralisation-Decentralisation Debate. London: Heinemann Educational Books.
Leclercq, F. (2002). The Impact of Education Policy Reforms on the School System: A Field
Study of EGS and other Primary Schools in Madhya Pradesh. CSH Occasional Paper No. 5
(Publication of French Research Institute in India) . CNRS, Universite de Paris I(Pantheon-
Sorbonne) and Centre de Sciences Humaines, Delhi.
Litvack, J., Ahmad, J., & Bird, R. (1998). Rethinking Decentralisation in Developing Countries.
Washigton DC: World Bank.
Majumdar, M. (2003). Decentralisation Reforms and Public Schools: A Human Development
Perspective. Journal of Educational Planning and Administration , XVII (4), 481-506.

628
 Abhyanand, Aditya Mohanty and Priya Ranjan

Mankoe, J., & Maynes, B. (1994). Decentralisational of Educational Decision Making in Ghana.
International Journal of Educational Development , 14(1), 23-33.
Mohan, G., & Stokke, K. (2000). Participatory Development and Empowerment: the Dangers of
Localism. Third World Quarterly , 21(2), 247-268.
Patna High Court Judgement (2019) The State Of Bihar vs The Bihar Secondary Teachers,
Civil Appeal 4862/2019 Accessed on 9 th of July 2022 from https://indiankanoon.org/
doc/116188840/
Reimers, F. (1997). The Role of the Community in Expanding Educational Opportunities: The
ECUDO schools in El Salvador. In J. Lynch, & S. Modgil, Education and Development:
Tradition and Innovation: Equity and Excellence in Education for Development (Vol. 2, pp.
146-162). London: Cassell.
Rondinelli, D. A., McCullough, J., & Johnson, R. (1989). Analyzing decentralization policies in
developing countries: a political-economy framework. Development and Change , 20(1),
57-87.
Turner, M., & Hulme, D. (1997). Governance, Administration and Development: Making the State
Work. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.
UNESCO. (2003). EFA Global Monitoring Report 2003/4: Gender and Education for All the Leap
to Equality. Paris: UNESCO.
Varghese, N. (1996). Decentralisation of Educational Planning in India: The Case of District
Primary Education Programme. International Journal of Educational Development , 16 (4),
283-289.
Wade, R. (1990). Governing the Market: Economic Theory and the Role of Government in East
Asian Industrialisation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Wankhede, G. G., & Sengupta, A. (2005). Village Education Committees in West Bengal, India:
Planned Vision and Beyond. International Journal of Educational Development , 25, 569-579.
Whitty, G. (2002). Making Sense of Education Policy. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

629