A teacher, hailing from Bihar’s Khagaria district, faced suspension after a video circulated showing him expressing dissatisfaction with school officials who decided to cancel the Raksha Bandhan holiday.
Sunil Kumar, the teacher in question, expressed his frustration toward department officials because his sister had to travel about 90 kilometers from Bhagalpur to Khagaria just to tie a rakhi.
To compensate for lost teaching days, education authorities opted to reduce the number of school holidays during important festivals in the remaining five months of the year.
This incident came to public attention when a Twitter page associated with the Bihar Shikshak Manch shared a video of Mr. Sunil Kumar. In the video, he criticized KK Pathak, the additional chief secretary of the Bihar Education Department, while his sister tied a rakhi at the school.
The video was shared on August 31 with a note that explained how a teacher’s sister had to travel to Mathurapur school in Khagaria from Bhagalpur to tie a rakhi due to the cancellation of the Raksha Bandhan holiday for employed teachers in Bihar. In the video, the teacher was seen venting his frustration.
According to an official order dated September 1, Mr. Kumar has been suspended from his duties. Furthermore, he is facing departmental action for making inappropriate and objectionable remarks towards higher officials. The notice also mentioned that his salary payments would be withheld immediately.