Primary school teachers’ associations in Bihar on Wednesday decided to sell empty jute sacks at each of the state’s 534 block headquarters on August 13 and at all the 38 district headquarters on August 16.

The move is a protest against the state education department’s July 22 order to primary and middle schools to sell the jute bags in which food grains for the midday meal scheme were supplied to them, as a way of raising revenues for the government.

The associations have also demanded revocation of the suspension of Muhammad Tamizuddin, principal of a primary school in the Kadwa block of Katihar, whose act of hawking the sacks in the marketplace became public via a video. He was suspended on Sunday evening for “tarnishing the image of the government”.

The July 22 order demeaned the state’s around 4 lakh primary and middle school teachers, and “we are planning to move court on the issue”, Bihar Rajya Prarambhik Shikshak Sangh president Pradeep Kumar Pappu told The Telegraph.

Pradeep added: “We have asked the government to withdraw the order to sell empty jute bags and the suspension of Tamizuddin. If this is not done, all principals and teachers of primary schools will sell the sacks at their block headquarters on August 13, and district headquarters on August 16.”

Teachers of primary and middle schools demonstrated at all the district headquarters on Tuesday by burning copies of the government order to sell jute bags and the suspension order on Tamizuddin. They chanted slogans demanding better teaching facilities.

Anwar Karim, a leader of primary teachers from Purnea, said the July 22 order had forced the teachers to peddle jute bags at marketplaces because the traders were not willing to travel to schools to buy them in bulk.

“In any case, everybody knows that teachers give the sacks to students who have to sit on the floor because most rural schools lack benches and desks,” Anwar said.

“Most of the remaining sacks have been damaged by rats, floods and the passage of time.”

The July 22 order was issued after the office of the comptroller and auditor general raised the spectre of revenue loss in its reports relating to financial years 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Around 1.27 crore jute bags had reached the schools under the midday meal scheme in those two years. With the teachers asked to sell each sack at Rs 10, the government was expecting to rake in Rs 12.7 crore from the sale.

Asked about the controversy, education department special secretary and midday meal director Satish Chandra Jha told this newspaper there was “no issue at all”.

He said the department had twice issued similar orders in recent years. But the teachers’ associations said the government had relented both times after the teachers protested, but had this time threatened punishment.

Tamizuddin has begun reporting at the Kadwa block office every working day, as directed by the suspension letter.