Solapur ZP withdraws diktat demanding salutes

A day after DNA reported about Solapur Zilla Parishad asking students to do at least hundred salutations every day as part of the sahastra namaskar programme, officials at the ZP have said that they have withdrawn the programme after receiving flak from educationists.

Rajendra Bharud, CEO, Solapur Zilla Parishad said that while the intention of the initiative was to develop a sense of humbleness in the minds of students, it has now been withdrawn due to criticism.

"The programme was proposed for this academic year but was not implemented yet. The idea received a lot of opposition from all ends including from the principals who said that it was not going to achieve any purpose. We have thus decided to scrap it" said Bharud.

The Solapur District administration had recently asked all students under its 4,000 plus schools to offer a hundred salutations every day with a view to inculcate the value of respecting their elders. The directive was part of a circular issued by the district administration on May 26 under which zilla parishad schools have been asked to follow the sahastra namaskar programme for students under which they have to offer salutations to elders in the family, school teachers, senior members in their village etc.

The issue came to light after Pune-based Education Researcher Kishore Darak wrote to the state education department demanding the circular to be withdrawn.

‘FOOLISH’ MOVE

• State education minister Vinod Tawde had called the move a ‘foolish’ one
   
• Tawde also promised that it would not be implemented
   
• Students were required to offer salutations to elders in the family, school teachers, seniors in their village etc