Govt school shut on Fridays, probe ordered

Deoria (UP): A probe was ordered against a government primary school in the state for following a peculiar practice of remaining closed on Fridays instead of Sundays, an official said on Sunday.

Acting on a complaint against the principal of the school in Navalpur in Deoria, district magistrate Sujit Kumar directed the basic shiksha adhikari (education officer) (BSA)  Santosh Kumar Dev Pandey to probe the matter and take appropriate action.

“A report has been sought from the BSA regarding the closure of the school on Fridays. It is a serious issue that the school remains closed on Fridays instead of Sundays without any order or direction. Strict action will be taken against those responsible for this,” Mr Kumar told PTI.

“The school will now remain closed on Sundays, and instructions have been issued to take action against the principal of the school... A detailed probe will be done,” he added. The complaint against principal Khurshid Ahmad was received by block education officer of Salempur block, Gyanchand Mishra who then sent a team of two officers to the school.

“The officials reached the school on Friday at around 9.45 am. They found the school to be closed and Islamia primary school, Navalpur was written outside the building instead of primary school, Navalpur,” Mishra said. The block education officer then called up Ahmad who justified the practice arguing that 95 per cent of the students were Muslims hence, the school remained closed on Fridays instead of Sundays, officials said. Mr Ahmad also claimed that the practice was prevalent before he joined the school in 2008.

“The principal’s claim about the practice being in existence before he joined will be probed as well,” Mr Pandey said.

There are five teachers in the school including Ahmad, assistant teachers Badruddin Ansari and Shabnam Ara, and shiksha mitras Saira Bano and Shakeela Khatoon. About 90 students are enrolled in the primary school.