Punjab School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Thursday, December 1, issued an order to rename the state's government schools which have been named on the basis of caste and fraternity.
Citing the reason for the proposed change, the Minister said, "Several cases have come to the notice regarding the names of many government schools in the state being associated with a caste, which makes them feel uncivilised in the present era and at the same time promote caste segregation in the society."
As per a report by PTI, Bains remarked that all students were being provided with "equal education" on the basis of quality in the government schools of the state. As a result, he added that the names of government schools cannot be associated with class or caste.
The education minister referred to Punjab as the land of "gurus, saints and great prophets who have taught humanity to stay away from casteism and all kinds of discrimination," reported PTI. "In today's era, these names have a profound effect on the tender minds of the students and sometimes many parents also refrain from enrolling their children in government schools because of these names," said the Minister.
In order to implement this proposal, a report has been sought from all the district education officers and elementary education department about the schools of different caste-based names running in their jurisdiction.
