Mumbai: MSCPCR Objects To Maharashtra Govt's 'Selfie' Directive For Students; Writes Letter To CM Shinde

The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) has objected to the state government asking school students and their parents to click selfies with a letter penned by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

In a letter to the state school education department, the child rights body claimed that the schools are pressuring parents and children to comply with the 'selfie' directive. The commission also sought to know whether it's mandatory to submit the pictures.

Controversy Surrounds Maharashtra's 'Majhi Shala Sunder Shala' Drive

The initiative is part of CM's 'Majhi Shala Sunder Shala' (My school, beautiful school), a special drive by the state school education department for 'holistic personality development of students and to equip them with essential skills'. Among other activities, the government also asked the school kids to click a selfie with their parents while holding a message on 'education quality'. The winning students in each district were promised cash prizes.

Lakhs Of Students Sign Up For The Drive

As many as 1.01 lakh schools have signed up for the drive, while the CM's letter was given to 2.11 lakh students. The contest hasn't gone down well with some who called it a form of political propaganda.