Tuesday, 16 JULY 2024 | my uttarakhand news | DEHRADUN While the BJP government in Uttarakhand is trying to enhance the cultural revival as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there are schools in Uttarakhand which penalise students for talking in Hindi. Now, following the direction of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), the Education department has instructed the private schools in Dehradun to refrain from imposing fines or prohibiting students from speaking in Hindi or other local languages. Notably, it has come to the attention of the SCPCR that several private schools in Dehradun are increasingly adopting a policy that requires students to use English exclusively rather than Hindi. Talking to The Pioneer, the chairperson of SCPCR Geeta Khanna said that she has been monitoring the prevalence of English language usage among students in private schools for some time now. She further said that in view of this she has recently inspected several private schools in Dehradun. During the inspection, it was observed that the school principals are reprimanding students for speaking in Hindi and insisting that they only speak in English. As a result of this, the Education department has been instructed to provide guidelines to private schools in Dehradun regarding not penalising or imposing fines on students for speaking in Hindi or other local languages. She emphasised that the mandatory use of English is indirectly impacting the ability to learn and speak the national language, Hindi. Therefore, it is everyone’s responsibility to promote the Hindi language at all levels, including celebrating Hindi Day in schools. Further, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Pradeep Rawat has informed that in compliance with the directive from the SCPCR, he has recently issued guidelines to the private schools in Dehradun. He has directed them not to impose fines on or prevent students from speaking Hindi or other local languages within the school premises. Rawat stated that if any school is found to be contravening this directive, the education department will convene a meeting with them to explain the significance of Hindi or other local languages. He emphasised that if private schools continue to disregard the Education department directive, strict actions will be taken against those specific schools.