Bihar education minister Mithilesh Tiwari did not speak against girls’ education

A video of Bihar education minister Mithilesh Tiwari is going viral on social media, with many users, including opposition party leaders, claiming that he said girls did not need education. Notably, Tiwari assumed charge as Bihar’s education minister on May 9, 2026.

A user named Manish RJ shared the viral clip, writing, “Meet Bihar’s new education minister, Mithilesh Tiwari. He says girls don’t need education and should stay at home.” Quoting the post, Manish Sisodia said, “This is why I hate the BJP. The BJP believes educating girls is wrong. If you don’t believe it, listen to this statement from their education minister.” (Archive link)

Congress party’s youth wing, Indian Youth Congress, shared the viral video and wrote, “Bihar’s new education Mminister Mithilesh Tiwari asks why daughters need education.” (archive link)

A similar claim was made from the Instagram handle of Aam Aadmi Party.

 

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A user named Dr. Laxman Yadav posted the video and slammed Tiwari. (Archive link)

The Logical Indian also posted this video and made a similar claim.

India TV anchor Romita Tiwari posted the video, saying, “There’s a lot of talk about women’s empowerment and respect for women in the country. And yet Bihar’s education minister Mithilesh Tiwari is asking why daughters need education.” (archive link)

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Fact Check

We searched YouTube using keywords related to the viral video and found a detailed report uploaded on the YouTube channel of News4Nation on May 9, 2026. The report contains the full media interaction of Bihar education minister Mithilesh Tiwari, a clipped portion of which is now being circulated on social media.

Watching the full media interaction makes it clear that the viral claim is false and misleading. The conversation in the video was not about “education” but about the “agitation” by candidates protesting over the BPSC TRE 4 examination. The reporter questioned minister Mithilesh Tiwari about allegations that male police personnel used force against female protesters during the demonstration.

Responding to this, at around 3 minutes and 54 seconds into the video, Tiwari said, “What is the need for agitation? Our daughters are our strength, the foundation of our prosperity, and why do those daughters need to come out on the streets when Modi is standing in reverence for women’s empowerment?” When he was told, “For rights,” Tiwari replied, “You will get your rights anyway…”

So, to sum up, Alt News’ investigation found that in the viral clip, Mithilesh Tiwari used the word ‘agitation’, which several social media users misrepresented as ‘education’ to falsely claim that he said girls do not need education.

That said, Alt News does not endorse Mithilesh Tiwari’s remarks. While the viral claim falsely portrayed his statement as being against girls’ education, his actual response made in the context of allegations of force being used against female protesters can still be seen as dismissive of women’s right to participate in democratic protest and public dissent.