BeyondHeadlines News Desk
Expressing dismay over the circulars issued by the CBSE and other authorities dealing with different systems like Directorate of Education, Delhi, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, etc. asking schools to make arrangements to ensure that all the school children across the country listen to the Prime Minister’s address to the children in their school premises on the occasion of Teacher’s Day on September 5, various educationists, social activists and journalists across India are demanding the withdrawal of order at the earliest.
According to the statement released by the group, it is an extraordinary and unprecedented step in the history of school education in independent India. Not only does this order treat children as passive and captive elements who do not have a view of their own, it also violates the international convention of Child Rights which says that children have a right to form opinion and therefore they need to be asked whether they would like to be part of such an extra-school activity beyond their usual school hours.
Although the MHRD has clarified verbally that this is a voluntary activity and not binding on the schools and children, yet the written orders by the authorities are still in vogue asking the schools to furnish the status report by September 2 and remain prepared for surprise inspections in this regard. Moreover schools are being asked to spend from their own resource pool which in itself is very poor and inadequate. The resources identified for school related activities are sought to be diverted for an extraneous activity, not intrinsic to the curriculum.
Condemning this speech as an attempt of the Prime Minister to monopolise the day, which belongs to the teaching community and pushing them off stage, the statement says that the Prime Minister is not the Teacher-in-Chief of the country and he should leave the children alone.
Renowned journalist Kanwar Sandhu posted on one of the social networking sites, “On Teachers’ Day, what teachers and children need are not PM’s homilies but resolve to revamp education system devoid of RSS propaganda”.
