Patna: Days after the Kishanganj District Education Officer’s (DEO’s) letter mandating all the private schools of the district recognized by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to teach Urdu stirred a row; the order was withdrawn by the administration on Thursday, January 2.
“The Order was withdrawn after holding a review meeting over this,” said DEO Naseer Hussain in a fresh letter issued on January 1. “CBSE schools will continue to be run as per the guidelines and norms set by the CBSE,” reads the letter further.
The letter issued by the DEO on December 30 sparked a row, prompting protest from the leaders of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
Reacting to the letter, Minister for Revenue and Land Reforms in Bihar, Dilip Jaiswal said “That the decision to teach any subject or language in a school rests solely with its management and no such letter should be issued by any officer. The order issued is not mandatory for any private schools”
Additionally, management of several schools also echoed their voice against the order citing it an intervention in the CBSE rules.
The previous letter was issued following a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA).
Kishanganj, Bihar: District Education Officer Nasir Hussain has issued an order to teach Urdu in private schools.
The order says, “All the private schools in Kishanganj district, recognized by CBSE Board, are requested to ensure the necessary arrangements for the study of Urdu… pic.twitter.com/MsqcpzWzi5
— ANI (@ANI) December 31, 2024
The letter quoted the local MLA of the Congress party asserting that despite being a Minority (Muslim) dominated district CBSE private schools in Kishanganj are not interested in teaching Urdu.
The letter mandated Urdu teaching in all the CBSE private schools. Notably, Kishanganj has a significant population of the Muslim community constituting around 68% of its total population.
