Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Thursday
told the Calcutta High Court that no student, teacher and
other staff of schools would be allowed to participate in any
political rally during school hours.
The state`s school education secretary informed a
division bench comprising Chief Justice J N Patel and Justice
A K Roy that the government has decided to issue a
notification prohibiting all students, teaching and non-
teaching staff of schools from participating in such rallies
during school hours.
The government today filed an affidavit pursuant to a
direction of the court following a media report that children
from a city school had been forcibly taken to participate in a
political rally at the behest of some teachers.
It alleged that around 35 students of Sahapur Mathuranath
Vidyapith were forced to attend a demonstration on September
eight by AIDSO, the students` wing of SUCI (Communist) party.
Advocate Tapas Bhanja brought the matter to the notice of
the division bench which directed the school education
department secretary to file a report on the incident stating
steps taken against the persons who were responsible for
taking the students.
The government immediately formed a four-member inquiry
committee headed by N N Dutta, joint-secretary in the school
education department, which gave its finding and
recommendations to the government.
The committee found that most of the students were picked
up on their way to school, while about five to 10 students
were taken from the school.
It recommended that an order be issued by the department
directing students, teachers and non-teaching employees not to
involve themselves in any political programme during school
hours.
The government, accepting all the recommendations of the
inquiry committee, has instructed the district inspector of
schools, Kolkata, to file an FIR at Behala police station
against five persons named in the inquiry report.
The affidavit stated that steps were being taken to
initiate departmental proceedings against the said school`s
headmaster and two teachers for negligence in discharge of
duties.
PTI
