In a bid to check harassment, a government school in Malda district in West Bengal has issued a directive asking female and male students to attend school on different days of the week. The decision was taken by the Girija Sundari Vidya Mandir in Habibpur area of Malda Sadar subdivision. Facing criticisms, the administration has asked for the withdrawal of the move, terming it ‘bizarre’. 

The ‘Bizarre’ Directive 

According to Headmaster Rabindranath Pande, several complaints of harassment forced the school to take such a decision.

“It was, hence, decided that the girl students will attend school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while the boys will come on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,” NDTV quoted Pande as saying. “Since its implementation, operations have been smooth.”

An inquiry has been ordered by Education Minister Partha Chatterjee into the matter. “Such a decision can never be supported. We have asked the officials to inquire into the matter and it should be immediately withdrawn,” he said.

Mahua Das, the president of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, claimed that the department was not consulted before this ‘bizarre’ directive was issued. 

The Logical Indian Take

Schools run not for more than five-six days, and reducing it to three days for a reason such as this is harrowing, to say the least. School is where we should learn to embrace inclusiveness and togetherness.

It is a failure on the part of the school authorities if they feel that educating girls and boys separately is the way to control harassment in the school. 

Any form of harassment inside the school could have been checked by authorities by simply staying vigilant, and taking logical, appropriate action against those guilty of it.

Thought process as backward and narrow as making boys and girls attend classes separately will only come in the way of social progress, both of the school and the students. 

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