The District Education Officer of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, has sent out a warning to all private schools ahead of Christmas, asking them to get parental consent before choosing pupils to take part in Christmas programs. This, it claimed, is to ensure that no uncomfortable circumstance occurs.
The notice, which was sent on Thursday, stated, "The students selected by the school to take part in the programme organised on the occasion of Christmas in the school or to pose as Santa Claus, Christmas tree, and any other characters, should be done only after getting written permission from their parents."
The notice also stated that ex-parte disciplinary action will be proposed against the institution in the event that any form of complaint or dispute is discovered in this regard.
"The Ujjain District Education Officer has issued an order that states there should be no disagreements on any Santa Claus (Christmas)-related programs that are held in the district's schools. Additionally, if the event is being held at the school, get the kids' parents' consent," told Sanjay Sharma of the BRC (Block Resource Center) in Ujjain to ANI.
Shajapur DEO sent similar notice earlier
The Shajapur District Education Officer had earlier sent out a notice requesting that all private schools in the district obtain parental consent prior to choosing pupils to take part in Christmas programs.
"Cultural programs are held in schools, but the programs are a little religious, and children of other faiths are also assigned religious characters to play, which is not in line with their own religion," Shajapur District Education Officer Vivek Dubey told ANI. "The majority of the time, these gatherings are peaceful, but occasionally, disagreements and complaints arise, requiring a lot of time and effort to settle." he continued.
All institutions have been asked to hold religious programs but refrain from forcing youngsters of other religions to participate in skits or fancy dress events in order to ensure that such conflicts do not arise in the future. Mr. Dubey continued, "If it is necessary, they only do so with the guardians' written consent."
(With inputs from ANI)
