bhopal

Updated: Sep 13, 2017 16:47 IST

After compulsory flag hoisting introduced in Madhya Pradesh schools in January, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government will make Jai Hind mandatory for all students from November to mark their attendance.

Satna will be the first district where this practice will be introduced from October 1 — a month before implementing the same in all the schools across the state, after getting a nod from the state cabinet.

School education minister Vijay Shah said the decision was taken to instill a sense of patriotism among students.

“Jai Hind is acceptable to students of all religions so I have decided to introduce it. We just want to keep our culture alive which our young generation is forgetting,” said Shah.

A section of educationists and also the Opposition Congress leaders say they feel the government should focus more on improving the quality of education and results than introducing Jai Hind.

Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress president Kunal Chaudhary said, “We don’t have any problem with chanting Jai Hind but school education department’s main job is to provide quality education for better future of students and they have failed in their task. Instead of concentrating on what student should wear, chant and which culture they should follow the government should improve the condition of schools and education system.”

MP Teachers’ Association general secretary Ashutosh Pandey said, “The government is instilling a feeling of patriotism forcefully. If they really want that students feel proud on our country, they should provide them best education and facilities. The term is not enough to make students patriotic.”

According to a study by the Child Rights and You (CRY), 94% schools in the state have “significant infrastructural gaps” in compliance of the Right to Education Act, 2009, even six years after the act was implemented.

In a recent example of poor state of education, the National Institute of Open Schooling found irregularities in the results of Class 10 and Class 12 board exams as hundreds of students passed sthe exam without even taking it.