K K Pathak seeks Delhi deputation, nod likely

Pathak, who was only recently praised by chief minister Nitish Kumar as an “honest officer”, has courted numerous controversies in his less than a year of his stint in the education department.

Controversial senior IAS officer K K Pathak, currently additional chief secretary (education) in Bihar, has applied for central deputation, said a senior official of the state government’s cabinet coordination department.

IAS officer K K Pathak. (HT)

“His application is under active consideration,” the official said requesting anonymity, adding that he would most likely be relieved for central deputation.

In January this year, Pathak had relinquished charge of the education department and gone to Delhi, sparking speculations.

Pathak, who was only recently praised by chief minister Nitish Kumar as an “honest officer”, has courted numerous controversies in his less than a year of his stint in the education department, where he also received appreciation for restoring a semblance of discipline in government schools by ensuring regular attendance of teachers and students.

Back from central deputation in November 2021, Pathak was posted in the department of prohibition, excise and registration. In June 2023, he was shifted to education department.

Soon, he was at loggerheads heads with the government and the Raj Bhawan.

An all-party delegation of MLCs had to approach Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to complain about Pathak’s style of functioning after the officer stopped the salary of a legislator and teachers’ body working president.

Earlier, the education department had issued parallel advertisements for the appointment of vice chancellors after the Raj Bhawan had already done so and had to withdraw all after the intervention of the CM, who called on the Governor to defuse the crisis.

Later, Pathak issued orders to stop the salary of VCs and registrars, which also did not go down well with the Raj Bhawan.

He also had a spat with the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) chairman and ordered that the private secretary of the former education minister Chandrashekhar be not allowed in the office. The minister later himself stopped going to the office for over a month.

More recently, Pathak dominated the budget session of the Bihar legislature over school timings.

Despite CM Kumar’s announcement in the assembly that the school timings would be changed from 10 am-4 pm and education minister Vijay Kunar Choudhary’s categorical statement that CM’s announcement was an order, Pathak stuck to his 9am to 5 pm timing.