State announces mandatory ‘nation-first’ drill in schools on Republic Day

Maharashtra education commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh on Thursday announced steps to ensure patriotic engagement of students across the state

Pune: Maharashtra education commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh on Thursday announced steps to ensure patriotic engagement of students across the state. All schools will conduct a mass patriotic song recitation on Republic Day under the theme, ‘Nation First’. Over two crore students from more than one lakh schools and over seven lakh teachers are expected to participate.

Maharashtra education commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh on Thursday announced steps to ensure patriotic engagement of students across the state. ((PIC FOR REPRESENTATION))

“Many schools declare a holiday on January 26. However, no school will remain closed this year and no student should stay at home. Attendance must be 100%,” Singh said. “The initiative is aimed at instilling a sense of patriotism, discipline and health awareness among students. Through this collective drill, we want students to experience unity, self-discipline and physical fitness in a patriotic atmosphere.”

The drill will be conducted after the official flag-hoisting ceremony and will last for 15 to 20 minutes.

Trigun Kulkarni, chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Kulkarni, highlighted the state board’s copy-free campaign, being implemented with extensive student, parent, and teacher awareness initiatives. This includes pledges, guidance sessions, parent-student dialogues, and social media campaigns to promote honesty, ethics, and exam seriousness.

Kulkarni said, “Any malpractice detected at an exam centre will result in immediate cancellation of that center’s approval. Last year, 107 centres were shut down for irregularities.”