Patna: Bihar's Education Minister, Sunil Kumar, announced that the government will soon introduce a policy to resolve salary-related issues faced by women teachers during their maternity leave. This announcement was made on the final day of the legislative council's winter session, where several questions concerning the education sector were raised.

The issue of delayed salaries for women teachers on maternity leave was brought up by MLC Nawal Kishore Yadav. He explained that teachers often face a complicated process to get their leave approved when they return to work, causing delays in their salary payments. In some cases, the delay extends to several months or even up to a year. Yadav also highlighted instances of harassment during this process and called for a clear policy to ensure that teachers receive their salaries without unnecessary interruptions during maternity leave.

The Education Minister acknowledged the concern and assured that the department would review the matter. He said, "The department will review this issue and ensure a policy is put in place to address it. An instruction in this regard will be issued in December."

Another important concern raised during the session was related to salary deductions for teachers due to confusion over school timings. MLC Kumar Nagendra mentioned that after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's announcement of new school timings from 10 am to 4 pm, many teachers faced issues due to unclear communication. MLC Sanjeev Kumar Singh pointed out that nearly 10,000 teachers had their salaries cut by up to 15 days because of discrepancies regarding the new timings.

In response to these concerns, the Education Minister explained that the department was conducting a district-wise review of the situation. He assured that teachers who were late due to unintentional mistakes arising from confusion over the timings would be reimbursed for the salaries that were deducted.