The Bihar schools which lack basic amenities are currently debating upon the reduction in the number of holidays as the Education Department is keen on conducting classes in accordance with the Right to Education Act, 2009. However, several schools in Katihar were found flouting the RTE Act.
On August 29, the Education Department issued a circular to reduce the festive holidays from 23 to 11 days from September to December citing the RTE Act, according to which conducting at least 200 working days in primary schools and 220 days in middle schools is mandatory.
The cancellation of holidays for Raksha Bandhan, Teej (married women observing fast for the long life of husbands), Jiutiya (mothers observing fast for the long life of children), Vishwakarma Puja, Janmashtami, Durga Puja, Chhath and Guru Nanak Jayanti triggered a political debate after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the government anti-Hindu.
For Durga Puja, the schools used to get six days leave. It was reduced to three days, as per the circular. Even the holidays of the Chhath festival, which is the biggest festival in the State, were cut from four to two days. In 2023, there were a total of 121 holidays out of 365 days.
Massive outrage
In many districts of Bihar, teachers protested against the decision of the State government. They conducted the classes wearing black ribbons and some even burnt the copy of the notification. Several called the government dictator for cancelling 12 holidays.
The BJP called it anti-Hindu because the maximum holidays which were cut were Hindu festivals and the holidays for Islamic festivals like Chehlum and Muhammed Prophet’s birthday were not cut. Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Modi had categorically asked why the Hindu festival holidays were cut.
After the notification, the first festival was Raksha Bandhan, in which the attendance of students was almost nil in most of the schools. In a bid to save their jobs, teachers showed up at the schools, but students did not turn up.
On the day of Raksha Bandhan, a photograph went viral on social media in which a dog could be seen looking at the blackboard with ABCDEF written on it. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has supported the decision by telling K.K. Pathak, Additional Chief Secretary of the Education Department, that he was doing a good job.
The earlier notification had also mentioned that there is no uniformity in the process of closure of schools on the occasion of festivals as schools are open in some districts during some festivals and closed in others.
However, after facing massive protests and backlash, the Nitish Kumar government on Monday withdrew the notification of curtailing holidays. After the State government reversed its decision, Mr. Modi claimed that the government was forced to withdraw the order because the BJP pressurised the government.
On September 5, the Education Department issued another notification stressing that under the RTE Act, the State government is committed to having at least 200 days of schooling for primary (Classes 1 to 5) and 220 days for secondary (Classes 6 to 8).
The letter further says that the Education Department can rethink the declared and undeclared holidays if classes are held less than those required by rules.
The Education Department is carrying out an inspection of the schools from July 1. During the inspection, it was found that schools were closed for local reasons and sometimes for invalid reasons. It was also found that schools were unable to conduct the minimum classes as per rules.
The Education Department found six undeclared reasons for closing the schools which include flood water entering into classrooms, cold waves, heat waves, schools being used for the accommodation of the police force for Independence Day and Republic Day, accommodation for Kawariyas and schools being used for different exams.
Asked about reversing the earlier order and issuing a fresh letter which shows the commitment to conduct minimum classes as per the rules, requesting anonymity a senior official of the Education Department said, “The order to withdraw notification came from the top leader of Bihar. I don’t know why it happened but one thing was communicated to me that being the election year, the order may disappoint the Hindu voters so it was withdrawn. However, we also issued a fresh letter so that the message can go that we hold the right to cancel the declared and undeclared holidays if needed.”
