UP: Govt School Run As ‘Islamia Primary School’ For Decades Under Education Depts Nose
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A probe by the Uttar Pradesh education department found that at least four state-run primary schools in Deoria district remained shut on Fridays while operating on Sundays. The investigation came after reports of a government primary school, named ‘Islamia Primary School’, in Navalpur village of Salempur block, being closed on Fridays came to the forefront.

After the officials were made aware of this the discrepancy, the schools have been asked to follow the norms. Moreover, they have been asked to maintain official school documents in Hindi, instead of Urdu as well.


Probe into the Salempur government primary school

Reportedly, the inquiry was ordered after Salempur Block Education Officer, Gyanchand Mishra received a complaint against principal Khurshid Ahmad. District Magistrate, Sujit Kumar while talking to The Logical Indian said that he had directed Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Santosh Kumar Dev to look into the matter.

After a team of two officers were sent to the primary school in Deoria on the morning of July 20, it was found to be shut, while ‘Islamia Primary School, Navalpur’ was written outside the building instead of ‘Primary School, Navalpur. The correct name of the school has since then been painted outside the building.

However, upon inspection of the school’s documents, no conclusive answers could be found to the officers’ queries. District Magistrate Sujit Kumar said, “The Basic Shiksha Parishad was established in 1973, but the school dates back well before that.” Citing this reason, he added that no official documents or information could be retrieved upon inspection which could point towards a possible explanation for the name change and weekly offs on Fridays.


No official documents found

To find out as to when these changes took place, the officers had also enquired residents who had studied in the primary school. Kumar said, “We asked people as old as 70 or 80 years of age, who told us that even during their times, the school used to remain off on Fridays and open on Sundays.”

However, the matter was not brought to the notice of the authorities until now, and Kumar said that the unwritten mandate was followed by everyone for years, without even questioning its validity. Reportedly, over 90 to 95% of the students studying in the school are Muslims.

Even the school’s principal, Khurshid Ahmed, who joined the school in 2008 said that he was following traditions. However, no actions have been taken against the principle. The three other schools which were found to be flouting the norm are located in three are in Rampur Karkhana block of the same district.


The Logical Indian Take

This school, which was found flouting the norms is a government primary school which is supposed to follow directions mandated by the education department. The 90 children in the school study the same syllabus and wear the same uniform that government school children across the state are made to wear, yet, an unopposed tradition took precedence over government norms.

Also, what does it say about UP’s education department if they only noticed this discrepancy now, even though the schools were being run like this for decades?

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Editor : The Logical Indian

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