Many private English-medium schools have announced a holiday on July 6 to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
The decision follows a state government notification issued last week declaring July 6 a public holiday in Bengal, “being the birth anniversary of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, one of the most illustrious sons of this state”.
Among the schools that have declared the holiday are La Martiniere for Girls, La Martiniere for Boys, South Point, Birla High School, Sushila Birla Girls’ School, Birla High School Mukundapur, Loreto schools, Julien Day Schools in Calcutta, Howrah, Kalyani and Ganganagar, Sri Sri Academy, Shri Shikshayatan School, and BDM International.
“Whenever it is a holiday under the NI (Negotiable Instruments) Act, we always follow,” said an official of the La Martiniere schools.
Major General V.N. Chaturvedi, secretary general of the Vidya Mandir Society, which runs Birla High School, Sushila Birla Girls’ School and Birla High School Mukundapur, said they had received communication from the government. “We received a communication from the government and are following it,” he said.
Other private schools are yet to take a final decision on whether to declare a holiday.