Students, teachers to be barred from attending rally in WB

Kolkata, Sep 15 The West Bengal government today
told the Calcutta High Court that no student, teacher and
other staff of schools would be allowed to participate in any
political rally during school hours.
The state's school education secretary informed a
division bench comprising Chief Justice J N Patel and Justice
A K Roy that the government has decided to issue a
notification prohibiting all students, teaching and non-
teaching staff of schools from participating in such rallies
during school hours.
The government today filed an affidavit pursuant to a
direction of the court following a media report that children
from a city school had been forcibly taken to participate in a
political rally at the behest of some teachers.
It alleged that around 35 students of Sahapur Mathuranath
Vidyapith were forced to attend a demonstration on September
eight by AIDSO, the students' wing of SUCI (Communist) party.
Advocate Tapas Bhanja brought the matter to the notice of
the division bench which directed the school education
department secretary to file a report on the incident stating
steps taken against the persons who were responsible for
taking the students.
The government immediately formed a four-member inquiry
committee headed by N N Dutta, joint-secretary in the school
education department, which gave its finding and
recommendations to the government.