Patna: The Bihar education department has announced that it is cutting down 12 festive holidays in schools for the remainder of this calendar year, including Sri Krishna Janmashtami next month. The move has been met with allegations from the opposition BJP that the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) government is playing “appeasement” politics by targeting Hindu holidays.
The order, of which ThePrint has a copy, was issued on 29 August by the director of the Education Department. It stipulates that schools will no longer have holidays on Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Teej, and Guru Nanak Jayanti. Further, holidays for Durga Puja have been shortened from six days to just four. The rationale provided by the education department is that schools should meet a certain minimum of working days.
The announcement has triggered an outcry from BJP leaders. “Nitish Kumar is so engrossed in his political pursuit that he following the policy of appeasement,” said BJP state chief Samrat Choudhary told ThePrint.
Union minister Giriraj Singh went a step further, posting on X Wednesday that the holidays for Durga Puja, Diwali, and Chhath Puja had been “cancelled” by the Bihar education department. “Tomorrow it is possible that Sharia will be implemented in Bihar and there will be a ban on celebrating Hindu festivals,” he added.
Meanwhile, the JDU accused the BJP of trying to give the announcement a communal twist.
“The reduction in school holidays is in line with the Union Ministry of Education’s directive to maintain 200 working days in primary schools and 220 working days in middle schools. The state government has adjusted the holiday schedule accordingly. The state BJP should verify the facts before attempting to politicise the issue,” said national JD(U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan, speaking to ThePrint.
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What the order says
The order cites the Right to Education Act of 2009, which mandates that primary schools (Class I to V) should have 200 working days, while middle schools (Class VI-VIII) should have 220.
It then notes that various factors, including elections, exams, law and order situations, festivals, and other events, disrupt the regular teaching schedule in schools.
Overall, the holidays for the remainder of the year have been reduced from 23 days to 11.
In the coming month, the holiday for Sri Krishna Janmashtami, which falls on 7 September, has been dropped, while those for Chehlum (6 September) and Anant Chaturdashi/birth anniversary of Hazrat Muhammad (28 September) have been retained.
‘Dictatorial’
The education department’s order has left many school teachers unhappy.
Manoj Kumar, the working president of the Primary Teachers Association of Bihar, criticised the move, describing it as “dictatorial”.
“Holidays like Sri Krishna Janmashtami have been done away with. Around 70 percent of school teachers are women who observe fast on Jitiya day— yet the holiday has been cut off. We teachers teach more than 220 days in classes. The education department is fooling the people when it says that it wants to ensure 220 working days,” he said.
According to Manoj Kumar, it was wrong to presume that school teachers are given too many holidays. He added that his association would oppose the move.
Not the first time
This isn’t the first time that school holidays and politics have become intertwined in Bihar.
Last year, the BJP protested against the practice of giving school holidays on Fridays instead of Saturdays in Muslim-majority areas, such as Kishanganj, Araria, Purnia, and Katihar districts in the Seemanchal region. This was reportedly done in order to accommodate children from the Muslim community for Friday prayers.
However, despite the objections of the BJP— then still an ally of the JD(U)— the then-education minister, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, did not meet the demand to reschedule holidays.
Notably, Muslims constitute about 17 percent of Bihar’s population, but in Seemanchal it ranges from 35 percent to 70 percent, depending on the district.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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