PATNA: In an unbelievable turn of events, a male teacher at a government school in Bihar was granted maternity leave. The incident occurred at Hasanpur Osti Government High School in the Mahua block of Vaishali district.
Jitendra Kumar Singh, a BPSC-appointed teacher at the school, was granted maternity leave by the education department.
The maternity leave was processed through E-Siksha Kosh, an official portal of the state education department. The issue came to light when the leave was registered on the portal.
Block Education Officer (BEO) Archana Kumari said that Jitendra Kumar Singh’s name was mistakenly entered into E-Siksha Kosh by the department.
"It's an error and it will be rectified soon," she told TNIE.
The BEO said that the leave granted to the teacher concerned has been marked under the category to which he is not entitled.
"There may be some technical glitch, which will be corrected soon," she said, adding that the teacher's leave was marked under the category males are not entitled to.
A senior official of the state education department said that CLs (Casual Leaves) marked by women teachers show as ELs in E-Siksha Kosh.
"The department will make necessary corrections shortly," the officer said.
Male teachers are entitled to 15 days of Casual Leaves (CLs) in a year. On the other hand, pregnant teachers can apply for 180 days of maternity leave, and the department grants leave to them under this category.
Additionally, women teachers are entitled to a two-day special leave. Maternity leave of 180 days is granted exclusively to women teachers, but only for up to two children.
"The facility is also available for the state government women employees," education department officials said.
Last month, the education department hit the headlines after irregularities in the appointment of teachers came to the fore. Recently, the education department issued orders to all district magistrates, asking them to conduct surprise inspections of schools and initiate strict action against those found to be lax in performing their duties.