Shutdown threat to 125 bengal schools with saffron link
All these 125 schools are run mostly by three trusts, Sarada Shishu Tirtha, Saraswati Shishu Mandir and Vivekanada Vidya Vikas Parishad, which proclaim themselves to be affiliated to the Lucknow-headquartered Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan. These organisations have a network of over 350 schools in Bengal, with a student strength of over 60,000.
State education minister Partha Chatterjee singled out 125 of these 350 schools citing a "list" handed over by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, in her capacity as the state home minister.
"We have asked these 125 schools to explain why they have deviated from the state curriculum. We have decided to withdraw their affiliation and will shut them down if there is no satisfactory explanation," he said.
There is a great deal of ambiguity about the status of the other 225 schools, many of wh-ich teach only up to Class VIII.
The assembly announcement threw Bengal politics into a tizzy and could indicate the contours of a larger anti-BJP axis in the state. Significantly, the issue was raised in the assembly by CPM MLA Manas Mukherjee, who alleged that 350 schools were fanning religious intolerance that went against the state's multi-religious and multi-cultural ethos. Minister Chatterjee, as if on cue, brought out a list of 125 of these 350 schools, which he put on notice.
The ruling Trinamool and principal non-BJP opposition parties—CPM and Congress—recently came together to oppose the central BJP government's stand on linking Aadhaar to the school mid-day meal scheme.
Schools in Bengal last came under the scanner for their ideological bent during the Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee regime. The Left government in 2002-2003 ordered intelligence agencies to look into the curriculum and funding of non-registered madrassas, primarily in Murshidabad, Malda and North and South Dinajpur districts.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said 350-odd schools in the state are run by Vivekananda Vidyabikas Parishad, a registered body, and follow the curriculum set by Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan. "They are mostly in remote places, providing education to more than 60,000. They have been running in Bengal since 1975 when the first Sharada Sishu Tirtha was set up in Siliguri. They mostly follow the state school syllabus with some additional impetus to develop the student's physical, moral and spiritual values. This is an accepted practice in the country and also the state. I think they are sniffing politics everywhere. If they do anything legal we are prepared to battle it out," Ghosh said.
Minister Chatterjee said the state was examining the 125 identified schools and would revoke their NOCs if needed. "We will not allow spreading religious intolerance in the name of teaching students," he said. Of the 125 schools, 96 run without NOC. While 10 are affiliated to the state board, 19 have provisional NOCs. Chatterjee said many of the private schools get affiliation from central boards and take NOCs from the state, making it difficult to act against them.
What are the teaching of intolerance has not been mentioned. Why the schools have been issued show cause notice has not been mentioned in the news. But huge amount of money is spent on appeasement of educational institutions of one religion. Justice Dipankar Dutta had used the word of appeasement of one religion by this Government during the immersion process of Durga Puja by this Government. After taking oath about acting strictly in terms of the Constitution, Secularism is being seen to be kicked in Bay of Bengal. In Bengal there had been lot of religious riots recently. Medias have been suppressed to publish the same. Appeasement is creating this atmosphere. I had been nurtured in the house of another religion as their own son. There was no difference. Perhaps this Government should change its stand to create harmony instead of appeasement.
ReplyDeleteI strongly feel the show cause notice to Hindu schools is an appeasement to one religion for getting vote.Stop it. I had been brought up by a Muslim family. They had given me all the Hindu religious teachings. Please don't do this by attacking the schools teachings of Hinduism. I salute to that Muslim family who imparted Hindu religion to me. I love them from the core of my heart. Inspite of they being not that literate, their soles were secular without even knowing what the constitutional mandates were. My heart salute to them. This
ReplyDeleteGovernment should stop attacking hindu schools.