PUNE: After the Jalgaon zilla parishad’s (ZP) strange notification on attendance, it was the turn of the Solapur ZP to issue a circular recently that went as far as attempting to rewrite history.The circular, issued by Solapur ZP education officer Tanaji Ghadge on February 8, instructed schools to organise special functions to remember martyrs Bhagat Singh , Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar on February 14, disregarding the fact that the revolutionaries were hanged in Lahore on March 23, 1931.With the circular understandably drawing flak from teachers and experts alike, state education minister Vinod Tawde stepped in to say that it stood cancelled.“This is utter foolishness. The circular stands cancelled. No education officer has the right to bring out circulars. It is not their job. If circulars have to come, they will have to be from the government. I have asked the principal secretary to take proper action in the case,” Tawde said.The circular stated that students have to remember the lives and sacrifice of the martyrs and perform ‘pooja’ of their statues. It was issued to all primary schools in the district. Students were directed to bring their parents to school on the day and perform an ‘aarti’ for them as a mark of gratitude. The parents, in turn, were expected to give a return gift in cash or kind for the “development of the school”.On February 4, the Jalgaon ZP had issued a notification stating that teachers were likely to face a pay cut if more than 5% students in a class remained absent.When contacted earlier, Ghadge said his entire team had come up with the programme to commemorate the death anniversary of the martyrs. He claimed to be certain that the revolutionaries had been martyred on February 14.When reminded that February 14 also happens to be Valentine ’s Day, Ghadge said, “What is the point of Valentine’s Day? Students from standard I to VIII don’t even understand its meaning. There is a need to have patriotic feeling in students and hence we decided, for the first time, to organise this programme on Valentine’s Day when the revolutionaries were also martyred. As far as asking money from parents is concerned, there is nothing wrong in that. Whatever small amount of money they give would be utilized for the school’s development.”The circular in Marathi was issued to all block education officers and administrative officers in the district. It said the aim of the programme was to imbibe the feeling of patriotism in students, to make parents understand their children’s progress and to make students show respect for their parents.Six points were listed in the circular for the implementation of the programme: a ‘pooja’ of the statues of the revolutionaries; ‘aukshan’ (performing aarti) of parents; listening to patriotic songs; asking students to talk about their parents; teachers to talk about the importance of revolutionaries and parents; and, talking about (state government’s programme) ‘Pragat Shaikshanik Maharashtra’ and giving information on digital schools, e-learning and computers.According to the Constitution, government schools cannot promote any one religion either in their morning prayers or through religious celebrations. This also includes performing of rituals. Activists said this is another fact that the ZP had either forgotten or ignored.Pune-based education researcher Kishore Darak said education officers at all levels must append teachers’ efforts towards quality education and act as a support system instead of creating hindrances. “Circulars like this one from the Solapur ZP are not only non-educational but also unconstitutional. The authorities must control this. They must exhibit their obligation to the Constitution,” he said.Darak has written to the director of primary education, education minister and other officials concerned to put a stop to such misuse of academic time.VOICESWe are supposed to teach students the truth and build a scientific temperament in them. The circular in question was totally against this. It misguides the youth into believing that the revolutionaries died on Valentine’s Day. Besides, which Constitution allows people to perform ‘aarti’ in a school premises and take money in return? Education officials have to stop bringing religion into schools- A teacher, on condition of anonymityWhen the government is providing funds, what is the point of asking teachers to take donations from parents from poor background? Teachers are nowadays told to do random things. Their job is to teach, not to do other works- Vijay Mahale | TeacherIt is misleading to tell children that the revolutionaries died on February 14 and it is even more absurd to ask students to perform ‘pooja’ of statues, ‘aarti’ of parents and make parents give donations. This is wrong and should not be observed in an educational set-up- Vasant Kalpande | Educationist