TRE-3 Teacher Recruitment: Teachers holding only an 18-month NIOS D.El.Ed face job termination after the Education Department's strict order.

The Education Department has issued an order to terminate the services of teachers appointed under the third phase of teacher recruitment (TRE-3) in Bihar who completed the 18-month D.El.Ed course from NIOS. Here are the details of the matter.

Bad news has emerged for thousands of candidates in Bihar who had dreamed of becoming teachers and secured employment. A decision has been made to terminate the services of teachers appointed to government schools under the third phase of recruitment (TRE-3) who had completed the 18-month D.El.Ed course from NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling). The Education Department has issued official instructions to all District Education Officers (DEOs) in the state regarding this. This government decision has caused panic among the teachers who were teaching students in schools based on this qualification.

Letter sent by the Director of Primary Education to all districts

This action follows a letter issued by the state's Director of Primary Education. The Education Department has made it clear that any disregard for the rules will not be tolerated at any cost. The letter sent to all DEOs explicitly states that the documents of all teachers appointed under the TRE-3 recruitment drive held in 2024 must be re-examined. If, during the verification process, any teacher is found to have secured the job based on the 18-month NIOS D.El.Of course, their services are to be terminated with immediate effect.

Reference made to the recruitment advertisement terms

In its order, the Education Department has cited the recruitment rules and the terms of the advertisement. The letter states that Clause 2(b)(iv) of Advertisement No. 22/2024 (TRE-3) explicitly mentioned—in accordance with the Education Department's order dated December 7, 2023—that the 18-month D.El.Ed. course offered by NIOS would not be considered valid for appointment to the post of school teacher. Since this condition was already part of the advertisement, the department is now fully prepared to take action against teachers who violate these rules.

How will the teachers' services be terminated?

The Education Department has not merely issued an order to the District Education Officers but has also directed them to complete the entire process as quickly as possible.

Identification of teachers: First, education officers across all districts will verify the documents of teachers appointed in schools within their respective jurisdictions and compile a list of those who completed the 18-month NIOS course.
Prescribed legal procedure: Instead of immediate dismissal, these teachers will be removed in accordance with established rules and legal procedures to avoid any future legal complications.
Instructions to submit immediate reports: Upon completion of the action, District Education Officers must submit a comprehensive report to the Education Department headquarters.

How many teachers will face the axe?

Following this order, the biggest question is: exactly how many teachers in Bihar now have their jobs at risk? Even the Education Department does not have the answer to this yet. Officials state that reports are being sought from all districts. Precise data will only be available once all District Education Officers submit their respective district investigation reports to the Education Department. It is worth noting that this order did not appear overnight; the process had been underway for some time. The order was issued to District Education Officers on June 22 under the signature of the then Director of Primary Education, Vikram Virkar, and is now being implemented.