Bihar’s education Minister Chandra Shekhar Singh on Wednesday assured a probe after a question paper in half-yearly examinations for class VII students in Kishanganj and Katihar districts in Bihar mentioned Kashmir as a country.
“This is a serious matter. A probe shall take place even if it involved top officials,” he said.
The education department of Bihar has been conducting midterm examinations for the students of classes one to eight since October 12, which concluded on October 18.
The particular question that has created a controversy was in the English paper. “What are the people of the following countries called ? One is done for you.”
It cited the example of China and asked, “As the people of China are called Chinese, what are the people of Nepal, England, Kashmir, and India called?”
Pranav Shankar Jha, a quality coordinator with Bihar Education Project Council at Kishanganj, who is in charge of printing questions in the district, said, “We are looking into the matter.”
Kishanganj district education officer (DEO) Subhash Kumar Gupta said, “A handbook of model questions has been provided to every district and questions are set from this handbook. Whatever question was there in handbook was printed verbatim.”
Gupta, though, admitted it was a mistake. “This should have been looked into carefully.”
HT has a copy of the model questions.
Meanwhile, opposition BJP in Bihar seized the issue to sought a probe.
Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal said, “In Seemanchal comprising four districts Araria, Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj, hundreds of government schools are closed on Friday instead of Sunday. Now, showing Kashmir as a separate nation is another move to disintegrate India.”
He alleged that the Popular Front of India (PFI) was running the administration in connivance with the government in Seemanchal.
Bihar BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said, “Has Nitish Kumar, sitting in the lap of RJD, openly started running an agenda of religious appeasement, anti-national and pro-Pakistan agenda for the sake of vote bank politics?”
Recently, it came to light that over 500 government schools in four districts of Seemanchal have shifted their weekly off to Friday from Sunday without any specific guidelines of the government.
