West Bengal Schools Ordered to Sing 'Vande Mataram' Daily

KOLKATA: State schools have been instructed to sing ‘Vande Mataram' in the morning assembly every day before classes start. The school education department notice to institute heads states, "The singing of ‘Vande Mataram' during morning assembly prayers prior to the start of classes should be made mandatory so that ‘Vande Mataram' is sung by all students in all schools in the state with immediate effect. " The previous govt had made the state song, ‘Banglar mati Banglar jal', mandatory during the morning assembly at state schools. School heads are now confused, as many of them said although the new notice did not mention anything about the state song, children singing three songs—‘Vande Mataram', ‘Banglar mati' and the National Anthem—during the morning prayer would not be easy. "We cannot drop the National Anthem, as it is a must. Now our first song will be ‘Vande Mataram', and adding the state song will take more time, which will delay classes. Though the notice did not mention anything about the state song, retaining students for three songs is not an easy task," said a school head. The Union ministry of home affairs had issued a notice in Jan, stating ‘Vande Mataram' should be sung to honour the 150 years of the National Song. It has now been implemented in Bengal. Jadavpur Vidyapith headmaster Partha Pratim Baidya said, "Since last week, we have been singing ‘Vande Mataram' before the National Anthem." Jodhpur Park Boys' School headmaster Amit Sen Majumder said, "We will implement the order once the school reopens after the summer vacation." Mitra Institution, Bhawanipur headmaster Raja Dey said, "We sought clarification from the school education department to understand whether all three songs are mandatory or we will drop the state song. We are expecting a clarification before the summer break ends." An education department official said, "We have been asked to introduce ‘Vande Mataram' as school prayer, but there is no mention of the state song."