State Education Minister, Jagannath Mahato, on Thursday, said that the State Government will not tolerate the interference of external powers in the Government schools of the State under any circumstances. He was speaking in a Government school in Garhwa on the matter of changing the prayer by pressure by a particular community.
Mahto said that all schools will have to follow the guidelines issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy. He has ordered Garhwa Deputy Commissioner (DC) to take concrete action in this matter. He has also sought information from him about the action taken by the DC.
It may be mentioned here that in Korwadih of the district, the matter of changing the prayer of the school by pressurising the people of a particular religion has come in the media, which he has taken seriously.
The Education Minister also said that no matter if a village belongs to any religion, prayer cannot be allowed there according to that religion. Whether it is a Muslim-dominated village or a Hindu-dominated village, prayers will be held there as per the guidelines of the department.
Earlier, BJP leaders have also tried to raise voice against the incident and questioned the State Government on this issue. The State BJP Chief, Deepak Prakash said, in which direction does Chief Minister Hemant Soren want to take Jharkhand? Mahato retaliated on Deepak Prakash's tweet. He said, what will happen by just tweeting?'' If they have the same concern, then they should also talk to the DC and SP of the district.
Earlier, Bhavnathpur MLA Bhanu Pratap Shahi has said that so much appeasement is not good. Questions are also raised on the local MLA of Garhwa and the minister of the State, Mithlesh Thakur. He has said that in which direction Chief Minister Hemant Soren is taking Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) is running a special drive for the enrollment of out-of-school children. Project Director Kiran Kumari Pasi has issued instructions to all District Education Officers and District Education Superintendents. Special attention is being paid to the enrollment of children up to class 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Along with this, cooperation has also been sought from public representatives in the special nomination campaign.
Enrollment will be taken in classes 1, 6, 9 and 11, and enrollment will also be taken without a transfer certificate. Students, who are not enrolled in the next class, it will be the responsibility of the headmaster and class teachers to contact their parents.
The State Project Director has directed the officials to obtain Aadhaar (UID) from all existing and former enrolled students and if they do not have Aadhar, then make arrangements for them to get Aadhaar done at Pragya Kendras. The District Level Accounts Officer will take bank related details along with enrollment so that the benefit of DBT can be given to the children.