Jharkhand orders removal of word ‘Urdu’ from school names not notified by govt

New Delhi: The Directorate of Primary Education in Jharkhand on Monday ordered the removal of word 'Urdu' from the names of such schools which aren't notified under the Urdu category by the government.

The department also ordered that the weekly off of such schools must be only on Sunday and not Friday, which they had started observing for quite some time now.

The order, signed by secretary of Department of School Education and Literacy (DOSE&L) Rajesh Kumar Sharma, also states that the morning prayer in non-Urdu schools must continue as in past.

Jharkhand | Primary Education Dept orders to remove 'Urdu' word from such schools which aren't notified as Urdu schools.

The weekly off of such schools must be only on Sunday, not on Friday. Dept also orders that morning prayer in non-Urdu schools to be retained as in past. pic.twitter.com/uETLoPFKvd

— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2022

The order also highlighted how the department received information about some schools adding the word ‘Urdu’ to their names and started observing weekly offs on Friday instead of Sunday. It further noted that those schools also changed the schedule of mid-day meals accordingly and changed the pre-prayer methods.

If any local person, school management or others cause any kind of obstruction in implementing the orders, it will be considered as obstructing government work and disturbing social harmony, which would lead to appropriate legal action, added the order.

The controversy about schools using the word Urdu in their names and switching to Friday weekly off instead of Sunday came to light 0n 20 July when a report suggested that Jharkhand Education Department had initiated a probe into a school in the Lohardaga district which changed its name from primary school to Urdu high school.

The probe was ordered on the basis of a complaint filed by Jharkhand BJP MP Sudarshan Bhagat.

The MP had stated that residents and parents had voiced concerns over the use of word Urdu, particularly in the case of  a school named Charhu Urdu High School. “They claim it was a normal school, but how quickly it transformed into an Urdu high school. We informed the department that the problem should be looked into," he said.

Reports suggest that similar incidents have taken place in multiple schools in Jharkhand where names, weekly offs and other routine activities were modified to facilitate the “requirements” of the Muslim students in Muslim-dominating areas.

With inputs from agencies

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