Several schools and academic institutions across the state capital are flouting the Jharkhand government’s lockdown order aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus.
The management of Jawahar Vidya Mandir in Shyamali, one of the premier schools of the city, was compelled to postpone its admission test for Class III after Twitter users criticised the school authority for defying the shutdown order.
On Wednesday, a Twitter user called Shireen tagged chief minister Hemant Soren, Ranchi deputy commissioner (DC) Rai Mahimapat Ray and state public relation department in her post and said: “100 children to give JVM Shyamli’s entrance exam tomorrow (Thursday) for admission in third standard. It is not cancelled yet. With parents and teachers, the crowd will be around 300 at least. Will they not be at risk? And teachers are being called like normal days. Please intervene.”
On Thursday, the examination was postponed. Parents and kids were greeted by a notice board informing them about the cancellation of the exam till further notice.
Vice-president of Jharkhand National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) Inderjit Singh claimed that he carried out a surprise inspection along with other members at different schools and coaching centres on Thursday and found out that classes and exams were being conducted as usual.
“The most shocking thing was that students were found writing their exams at both the branches of Central School at Doranda and Dhurwa. The exam was postponed at our insistence. At Gyanodaya High School at Gandhinagar, the examination was conducted despite the government’s order,” Singh said.
He said they found Florence Nightingale School at Birsa Chowk had organised a parent-teacher’s meet.
“At St Stephen’s School in Hinoo, teachers were seen evaluating answer scripts. We also visited Lakshya Academy at Birsa Chowk and Biome Coaching Classes at Hinoo where normal classes were conducted. We forced them to shut down. We will keep conducting such raids,” said Singh.
Asked how Gyanodaya High School could conduct the exam, Ranchi DC said exams could be held but with due precaution.
