WATCH: Madhya Pradesh schools have mazars, mid-day break for namaz; child rights body serves notice

New Delhi: Three government schools in the Kurwai town of Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh (MP) have been found to have illegal ‘mazars’ inside them, apart from complaints of Islamisation of school activities such as filmi songs as daily prayers, namaz on school premises and two-hour daily breaks to students from Muslim community to offer namaz in mosques.

Taking cognisance of the matter, apex child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoonga has issued a notice to the state chief secretary to explain the action taken in the matter within seven days.

National child rights body miffed

Kanoongo also visited the schools for physical verification of the complaints and met school staff and students, who testified that such activities have been going on.

According to sources, while the CM Rise school in Kurwai has two mazars, built in 2017 and 2022, respectively, the junior section of the school in close proximity too has a mazar on the premises.

Another school in the same district, which Kanoongo visited, has a mazar among classrooms.

#FPNews#MadhyaPradesh #schools have #mazars , mid-day break for #Namaz ; #ncpcr serves notice
https://t.co/APAc47OhI5#WATCH video here pic.twitter.com/JCRVvsAbvB

— Firstpost (@firstpost) October 7, 2022

“We have surveyed the schools and it is quite disturbing to see all this. Students complained that Muslim students are daily given a two-hour break from 1 pm to 3 pm to offer namaz.

Also, the CM Rise school in Vidisha has a room built just beside the principal’s office for Muslim teachers and staff to offer namaz. The boundary wall of another school was altered to include in school premises a mazar,” Kanoongo told Firstpost.

“We are issuing a notice to the chief secretary of MP and demanding explanation within seven days,” he added.

How did mazars come up?

According to reports, at the CM Rise school in Vidisha, one of the mazars came up in 2017, while the other was constructed in 2022 by the then principal Shaina Firdaus. Allegedly, Firdaus had also allotted a room beside her office for Muslim staff and teachers to offer namaz. He husband, a physical training teacher in the same school took the lead for offering namaz on the campus.

The district education officer, reportedly, had written to the district collector for the mazar to be removed, but no action had been taken so far. Moreover, it has been reported that Firdaus, after the mazar had come to light in August this year, was transferred out of the Kurwai school. The DEO reportedly has averred that Firdau in 2022 had used government allocated money for the school to construct the mazar.

Firdaus has been, reportedly, suspended.

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