School authorities call up parents to apologise, but no word on whether children can wear their amulets or not.
Authorities of Eklavya School, who had forcibly removed religious lockets and tokens from the students last week, have tendered apologies to the parents. The principals of the school called up around 25 to 30 parents on Wednesday and offered apologies for what had happened to their wards.
DNA had carried a report on Tuesday on how the school first issued a notice banning religious lockets and tokens on the campus and then forcibly removed them from the students. This had created furore among parents, educationists and administrators.
The apology seems to have brought relief to the parents. A father of a student studying in the major school of Eklavya Education Foundation said he had received the apology and he was happy.
“I am so thankful to the newspaper for highlighting the issue. The authorities of the institute called us and offered apologies for what they had done. We as parents have been very upset about the incident. However, we could not do much as we were worried about the welfare of our children in the school,” he said.
Talking about the reason for wearing the amulet, a mother of another student said: “The locket that my child wore had nothing to do with superstition but it was more about tradition. We are educated people and understand superstition and practicality. If the people in the country start practising like what the school has enforced, our traditions like Rakhi will face the threat of extinction.”
She said she hoped that the school would allow her child to wear the locket now. “However, I have told my child to keep her talisman covered and not reveal it everywhere as a respect to the institute’s views as well,” said the mother.
Early last week, the principal of Eklavya School issued an order asking the students not to wear religious lockets or tokens. While many children reluctantly obeyed the order, those who did not had their lockets and amulets snipped off and thrown into dustbins.
After Wednesday’s development of the school having apologised to the parents, DNA tried to contact the principals of the school, Neha Shah and Rajal Thakkar. However, they did not attend their phones.
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