No directive for action against edu commissioner: MSCPCR

MSCPCR chairperson Susieben Shah clarified that no action was ordered against the education commissioner

Mumbai: Following media reports saying the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) had ordered action against the education commissioner, MSCPCR chairperson Susieben Shah has clarified that no such directive has been issued to the education department.

Mumbai, India – April 10, 2018: School children attending Digital class, virtual Class at Sewri Wadala Municipal school, at Wadala, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT) (HT PHOTO)

The matter concerns a complaint by Nitin Dalvi, president of the Mumbai Division of Education Rights and the Maharashtra Student Parents Education Federation, who had raised objections against the selfie programme associated with the chief minister’s ‘My School, Beautiful School’ campaign. Dalvi had expressed discontent over the education commissioner being instructed to take selfies with students during exams, arguing that the initiative was politically motivated and inappropriate for student involvement.

MSCPCR subsequently forwarded a copy of Dalvi’s complaint to the principal secretary of the school education department as per protocol, said Shah, clarifying that the activist misconstrued the meaning of the word ‘procedure’ as ‘cognisance’.

“The commission received a complaint from a concerned social activist, which was simply forwarded. There was no directive or declaration of action on our part,” said Shah.