Bihar seeks report on schools shut Friday in minority strongholds

Bihar education minister and JD (U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary has sought a report on schools following this practice. Education officers of these four districts in Seemanchal say they have received “verbal” orders from their department to submit a report.

While partner BJP is insisting that there should be a uniform weekly day off in government schools irrespective of the religion of students, the JD (U) and NDA member Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) have called for status quo, saying “tradition and precedent” should be respected.

Minister Choudhary said, “As we learnt about it, we have asked these four districts to submit a report.”

BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan told The Indian Express: “There is rule of law and every institution must follow the constitutional framework. We hope the state government will sincerely look into this.”

But JD (U) parliamentary board chairman and former MP Upendra Kushwaha called it a “non-issue”. In a Twitter post in Hindi, he said, “Is weekly holiday provision in Urdu schools a real issue and an attempt to create an unnecessary controversy? Those who object to a Friday holiday in Urdu schools should know that Sanskrit universities also declare a day off on Pratipada and Ashtami every month.” He posted a holiday calendar of the Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University for reference.

JD (U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar too said, “There is no need to tamper with precedent and tradition.”

Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) spokesperson Danish Rizwan said, “We have the government of Nitish Kumar who believes in development with justice. Some people have been unnecessarily dragging some schools into a controversy. When guardians and students have not made any written complaint, there is no need to change the existing system.”

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Bihar has an estimated 75,000 government schools. Around 200 schools in Punia, 229 in Araria, nearly 100 in Katihar and 37 in Kishanganj observe Friday as the weekly day off. There has been no specific government order in place for these schools to do so.

Education officers of these districts said these schools have remained closed on Friday for years in line with “tradition” — in some cases, even before Independence given that the majority population in the area is Muslim.

While Muslims make over 67 per cent of the population in Kishanganj, they are estimated to be 40-50% in Araria, Katihar and Purnia. In Bihar, an estimated 17 per cent of the population is Muslim.