Bihar Cuts School Holidays From 23 To 11; BJP Takes 'Sharia' Dig At CM Nitish Kumar

Patna: The Nitish government’s decision to cancel 15 holidays in the government schools of Bihar has drawn criticism from the BJP, who expressed their displeasure with the move. The state education department had issued a notification on Tuesday, stating that the holidays of Raksha Bandhan, Teej, Jiutia and others in government schools have been cancelled. The Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh slammed the Nitish government for this decision and said: “This time the state government has cancelled holidays on Hindu festivals, who knows if Sharia law is imposed in the state tomorrow.”

The notification said that the aim is to increase the number of working days for primary schools to 200 and for middle schools to 220 in a year, but due to various factors like elections, examination, law and order situation, festivals, flood, natural calamity and others, the students’ education gets affected, according to news agency ANI.

शिक्षा विभाग,बिहार सरकार द्वारा दुर्गा पूजा, दिवाली और छठ पूजा की छुट्टियां रद्द कर दी गई हैं।
कल संभव है कि बिहार में शरिया लागू कर दी जाये और हिंदू त्योहार मनाने पर रोक लग जाये।

— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) August 30, 2023

Therefore, the education department has reduced the number of holidays from 23 to 11. The holidays that have been cancelled are Raksha Bhandhan, Krishna Janmastami on September 7, Hartalika Teej on September 18 and 19, Jiutia on October 6. The holidays for Durga Puja have been cut down from six days (October 19 to 24) to three days (October 22 to 24). Chitragupt Puja, Bhaiyaduj have been clubbed into one day on November 15. Gurunanak Jayanti and Kartik Purnima have been merged into one day on November 27.

The notification also mentioned the holidays that have been granted by the education department. They are Chehallum on September 6 (Wednesday), Anant Chaturdasi/Birth anniversary of Hazrath Mohammad on September 28 (Wednesday), Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti October 2 (Monday), Durga Puja October 22 to 24 (Sunday to Tuesday), Diwali on November 12 (Sunday), Chitragupta Puja/Bhai Duj November 15 (Wednesday), Chatth Puja November 19 and 20 (Sunday and Monday) Christmas Day December 25 (Monday).