PATNA, June 25 -- The Bihar government on Wednesday approved a comprehensive new policy for the transfer of teachers, head teachers and principals across primary to higher secondary schools. The proposed 'Bihar state teacher transfer rules, 2026' seeks to make the entire process more systematic, transparent and sensitive to the personal challenges faced by educators. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by CM Samrat Choudhary, in which 46 proposals of different departments were passed. After the meeting, additional chief secretary (cabinet) Arvind Kumar Choudhary said once the new policy was notified, all teacher transfers would be handled through a dedicated online portal based on clearly defined criteria. The new framework gives priority to humanitarian considerations, including serious health issues, disability, cases where spouses are posted in different places, family circumstances and other genuine personal hardships. Under the policy, women teachers will have the option to be posted in a nearby panchayat within the same block but outside their home panchayat. Male teachers, meanwhile, can be transferred to a neighbouring block within the same district but outside their home block. Officials said the aim was to reduce arbitrary postings while addressing real difficulties teachers faced. Earlier, CM Choudhary had emphasised that the government wanted the process to be compassionate. "We are focusing on the real problems and personal issues of teachers. At the same time, we will ensure schools facing acute shortages get adequate staff so that the teacher-student ratio improves," he had said. The move is also seen as aligned with the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which stresses quality education and efficient human resource management in schools. Bihar has long struggled with uneven teacher deployment, particularly in rural and remote areas, where shortages often affect classroom learning. In a separate but notable decision, the cabinet approved the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the death of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari in an alleged police encounter at Belaunti village under Shahpur police station in Bhojpur district. The commission will be headed by Vinod Kumar Sinha, a retired judge of Patna high court. The encounter on June 17 has sparked widespread protests and allegations of foul play. Tiwari's family and locals have claimed he was ready to surrender, while police maintained he opened fire first. The probe is expected to bring clarity and restore public confidence in the handling of such cases. The cabinet also approved arrangements for a Rs.1 lakh crore long-term loan from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) for developing greenfield satellite townships. An MoU with HUDCO will be signed soon. The government has assured that farmers, whose land is acquired will be made stakeholders through a land-pooling model that returns developed plots to them. Additionally, the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation has been permitted to raise up to Rs.5,000 crore from HUDCO and other financial institutions (with state guarantee) under the Bihar Tourism Policy-2023. According to the officials, the loan would be utilised to develop modern hotels, convention centres, road-side facilities, smart toilets, wi-fi zones, water ATMs, smart parking, apart from better connectivity to tourist places. The cabinet also granted approval for five new private universities -- Shaanza University in Madhubani, VV Giri University in Daraunda (Siwan), SA University in Ashok Nagar (Nawada), Himalaya University in Patna and Sityog University in Aurangabad. The cabinet also approved the urban development department's proposal to amend the Bihar urban planning and development rules, 2014, allowing divisional commissioners to serve as ex-officio chairpersons of planning authorities and the DMs as ex-officio vice-chairpersons....