After Jamtara, 33 govt schools in Jharkhand CM’s home district Dumka give weekly off on Friday

Dumka, July 15: After Jharkhand's Jamtara district, over 33 government schools in Dumka district have Friday as their weekly off instead of Sunday without any permission from authorities. It should be noted that Dumka is the hometown of chief minister Hemant Soren. Newsbharati had reported earlier that the weekly holiday in more than 100 government-run schools in the Muslim-dominated areas in Jharkhand's Jamtara district was changed to Friday from Sunday.

 

Soon after this development, District Education authorities have sought a report into the matter, after which officials said an investigation will be initiated. Ten government schools of Dumka's Shikaripara Block, eight of Ranishwar Block, seven of Saraiyahat Block, two of Jama Block and Jarmundi Block, Kathikund Block and Dumka Block have holidays on Fridays. Most of these institutions sport name boards suffixing "Urdu school" along with the names of the schools.

 

 

"We have written a letter to the Block education officers of the 33 schools advising them to enquire into the matter. All the schools have Urdu in their names," said Sanjay Kumar Das, District Superintendent of Education, Dumka on Thursday. The official said that no instruction to keep schools closed on Friday has been issued by the department.

 

"It is being investigated how Urdu is tied to these institutions and under what conditions a weekly holiday on Friday is being offered in government schools. There's no instruction from the department to keep schools closed on Friday. After receiving the report, we'll start an investigation," said Das.

 

 

Moreover, the principals of some government schools confirmed that the schools were giving weekly holiday every Friday instead of Sunday. Shalini Gudiya Marandi, principal of Urdu Middle School, Kumharpada, Dumka, said that ever since she was posted in this school in 2015, she has been observing that Friday was a weekly holiday.

 

According to the teacher, the majority of students studying in the school belong to the minority community. Due to Friday being a weekly holiday, the week starts on Saturday in the Urdu Namdhari Government Primary and Middle Schools of the district. The menu, for the mid-day meals, which has been put up on the walls of the schools listing the various food to be provided on different days says the week begins on Sunday and Friday is marked as a holiday.