District Education Officer (DEO) Sharmila Rai of Begusarai, Bihar, has directed all male teachers to avoid coming to schools with a beard, stating that it distracts children from their studies. Similarly, women teachers were asked to dress up in traditional attires and not wear shimmering clothes.
These guidelines were issued in line with those of Bihar Additional Chief Secretary KK Pathak. Earlier, Pathak had imposed a dress code for teachers and asked them to avoid jeans and t-shirts, as per a report by IANS.
Pathak had also issued a notification directing students to maintain proper attendance. Students of Classes IX and X were asked to keep a 75 per cent attendance, failing which they would not be allowed to appear in board examinations. The same instructions were given to students of Classes XI and XII as well.
The notification further mentioned that students having lesser attendance than the prescribed percentage would not be eligible for government aid like the Chief Minister Dress policy, encouragement money and bicycle policy, among others.
The state government has additionally initiated to provide special classes to students for subjects like Math, Science and English. The government acknowledged that there was a shortage of teachers in these subjects, forcing students into coaching classes, as per a report by The Indian Express.
