Bihar Board: 5643 schools in the state functioning without commerce teachers

Commerce is taught in 7755 of the state’s higher secondary schools. Only 2112 schools have commerce teachers on staff. This subject is taught without a commerce teacher in the remaining 5643 schools. This is a situation that affects hundreds of schools across all districts. Students enroll in the commerce faculty, but no teacher is available to teach them. There are 3.60 lakh seats in the Faculty of Commerce across the state, spread across 7755 schools. There are 23,265 teachers available. However, only about 6,000 to 7,000 commerce faculty members are currently employed.

It should be noted that the teacher shortage is also affecting inter-school enrollment. In the last three years, enrollment in Inter in the Faculty of Commerce has decreased year after year. In 2020, there were 75662 students enrolled in the Faculty of Commerce; by 2021, this number had dropped to 74024. Only 61083 students enrolled last year, i.e. in 2022. Bihar Board increases the number of commerce faculty seats in all schools every year, but in most schools, even half of the seats are not filled.

There is not a single teacher in the state’s three thousand upgraded schools.

Three thousand secondary schools in the state have been upgraded to higher secondary in the last three years. Commerce education has begun in these schools, but not one of them has a commerce teacher. The Bihar Board of Education has given 2100 upgraded schools a code for inter-school enrollment in 2022. Earlier in 2021, 900 schools were assigned the Inter school code.

Most schools have enrollment in one, two, or three sections.

Most schools take enrollment in sections one, two, and three. There are 40, 80, and 120 seats available. In many schools, the commerce faculty has five to six sections. One or two commerce teachers work in a school with five to six sections. It should be noted that in 2011, STET was held to address a teacher shortage in the Faculty of Commerce, with approximately 5,000 people employed.

Case A – The Faculty of Commerce at Rajendra Nagar Boys Higher Secondary School has 120 seats. However, this school does not have a single commerce teacher. This has been the case at the school for the past five years.

Case B: Miller Higher Secondary School has 256 students enrolled. However, the school does not have a single commerce teacher. Those who were teachers retired a long time ago.