Bihar's Women Educators in Decade-Long Battle for Basic Rights
While the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government enjoys significant popularity among women in Bihar for its women-centric initiatives, hundreds of female teachers in state colleges and universities continue their struggle for a fundamental benefit—childcare leave. For ten long years, these educators have been fighting to see the provision of childcare leave actually implemented in their workplaces.
The Policy Promise Versus Ground Reality
The childcare leave provision was officially notified in the central government's gazette back in 2015, and it has been successfully implemented for all women government employees, including schoolteachers across the state. That same year, following the central government's notification, the Bihar government made provisions to grant 730 days of childcare leave for women employees.
Under this significant provision, eligible women employees can avail up to 730 days (two years) of leave specifically to care for their children below 18 years of age. The state government also extended maternity leave to 180 days in 2015 for women staff. Both these leave benefits can be availed by women employees for two children during their entire career.
UGC Guidelines and Administrative Delays
The University Grants Commission guidelines similarly provide up to two years of childcare leave for women faculty members, applicable to women with minor children below 18 years. This leave is intended for rearing children or addressing their needs during examinations or sickness, and can be granted for a maximum of two children throughout their service period.
Kanhaiya Bahadur Sinha, the working president of Federation of University Teachers' Associations of Bihar, revealed that in light of both state government and UGC regulations, the governor's secretariat forwarded a properly framed draft statute regarding childcare leave to the state government for approval in 2019. This draft statute involved amending existing service condition rules.
The same proposal traveled to the Bihar State Higher Education Council, which finally cleared it in December 2023, sending it back to the state education department for final approval. However, Sinha expressed deep regret that the statute remains unnotified as it continues to gather dust in the secretariat.
The Human Cost of Administrative Inaction
While this bureaucratic process drags on indefinitely, women teachers in state higher education institutions face real consequences. Those in need of childcare leave must exhaust all their available leave types and often face salary deductions due to their absence.
N K Agrawal, the state's higher education director, provided a glimmer of hope when he informed that the matter is currently under government consideration. He indicated that a final decision is expected to be taken soon by the competent authority.
The situation presents a stark contrast between policy announcements and ground-level implementation, leaving hundreds of educated women professionals in a prolonged battle for rights that their counterparts in other government sectors have enjoyed for nearly a decade.
