Archive · 5 Sep 2026
Bihar Congress Demands Teacher Pay Scale in 'Kafan March'
Bihar Congress organized a protest march for teachers who work in schools without regular government funding.
These teachers mostly depend on school fees and government grants for their income.
Congress said this makes their pay unstable and demanded regular salaries.
The march used the name “kafan,” meaning shroud, to show how serious the party believes the problem is.
The march took place in Patna on Teachers’ Day.
Congress said some of its leaders and workers were detained by police.
Police said 13 protesters were detained and later released.
The chief minister said the government was considering a new system to provide these teachers with a pay scale.
The Bihar Congress held a ‘kafan march’ in Patna demanding regular pay scales for teachers at unfunded schools.
The protest moved from Gandhi Maidan toward the Shaheed Smarak near the Bihar Assembly on Teachers’ Day.
Congress said the teachers currently receive unstable incomes under a grant-based system linked to student results.
The party claimed several leaders and hundreds of protesters were detained, while police said 13 protesters were detained and later released.
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said the government was considering a new pay scale combining school resources with government grants.
- Who
- The Bihar Congress, Congress Seva Dal, teachers of unfunded educational institutions, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Patna police.
- What
- A ‘kafan march’ demanding regular pay scales for teachers at non-funded schools.
- When
- Saturday, September 5, on Teachers’ Day; the year is not specified in the report.
- Where
- Patna, from Gandhi Maidan toward the Shaheed Smarak near the Bihar Assembly.
- Why
- Congress said teachers lack stable incomes under the existing grant-based system and demanded an end to inequality in education.
Congress and Teachers’ Demands
Government Response
How teachers should be paid
Congress and Teachers’ Demands
The Bihar Congress demanded that teachers at non-funded institutions receive regular pay scales instead of grants, arguing that grants and student-fee dependence create unstable incomes.
Government Response
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said the government was considering a new system combining the institutions’ internal resources with government grants to create a pay scale.
Handling of the protest
Congress and Teachers’ Demands
Congress claimed that leaders and hundreds of protesters were detained and called the alleged detentions an attempt to suppress teachers’ voices and an insult to democratic values.
Government Response
Patna police said 13 protesters were detained during the march and later released.
Government’s record on the demand
Congress and Teachers’ Demands
Congress leader Sanjay Yadav said teachers had previously been assured a pay scale but that neither Nitish Kumar nor his successor had provided one.
Government Response
The government said it was working toward a new pay-scale system, but the report does not state that the system had been implemented.
- Protesting organisation
- Bihar Congress, under the aegis of the Congress Seva Dal
- Main demand
- A regular pay scale for teachers at non-funded educational institutions
- Existing policy
- Bihar’s 1981 Non-Funded Education Policy was modified in 2008 to create a performance-based grant system
- Protest route
- Gandhi Maidan to the Shaheed Smarak near the Bihar Assembly
- Police account
- Patna Town SDPO Kamakhya Narayan Singh said 13 protesters were detained and later released
- Government proposal
- Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said a new pay scale could combine institutions’ internal resources with government grants
- Congress criticism
- Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru accused the government of suppressing teachers’ voices