Bihar Govt seeks report on State-run schools observing Friday off

Matter of State-run schools observing Friday off

(Image credit : OpIndia)

Patna (Bihar) – Taking cognisance of media reports about as many as 500 Government schools in Muslim-dominated districts in the State observing Friday as weekly offs, Bihar Education Minister and JD (U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary has asked district education officers to submit a detailed list of schools which are following this practice.

After initial flip-flop, Bihar Govt seeks report on state-run schools in Muslim-dominated areas observing Friday off as BJP insists on uniformityhttps://t.co/F9hSPq71xr

— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) July 30, 2022

1. Meanwhile, BJP, which is JD(U)’s ally in the State has strongly opposed the observance of weekly off on Friday and said that rules suitable to one religion cannot be allowed as per the Constitution.

2. “As we learnt about it, we have asked these four districts to submit a report,” said the JD(U) minister “Once we receive formal notice from the District involved, we’ll respond by the applicable procedures,” the JD(U) leader had said.

3. In fact, when asked about this old practice in Bihar, the party’s parliamentary board president Upendra Kushwaha called it a “non-issue” and alleged some people are unnecessarily spoiling the cordial atmosphere in the State. (Those who call it a ‘non-issue’ do not want that Government should take any action in this matter. – Editor)

4. The Spokesperson of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) said, “Why this issue is being raised when the students and their parents have no objection?” (These are Government schools. The expenditure to run these schools is being done by the Government and not students or their parents. Therefore if some Government-made rules are being violated, the Government should take action against it. Those who deny this should remove the name of their wards from the schools. – Editor)

Editorial viewpoints

• Just seeking report on State-run schools observing Friday off will not help. This is just for public show off. It shows that the Government does not want to take any action.
• Instead, it is expected that the concerned people who have infringed the State rules should be punished and the order to observe off on Sunday should be issued.