A week after uproar, RSS body clears air about ‘Punjabi being ignored’ in its schools; plans to open English learning academy

Punjab Sarvhitkari Educational Society (SES) runs as many as 123 schools in districts across Punjab and in the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Claiming it to be the “largest non-government organisation (NGO) in the world”, Punjab SES website reads – “It organises workshops, seminars, conferences and capacity building programmes to promote the standard of education as per the need of the times.”

Punjab SES general secretary Navdeep Shekhar has no qualms in admitting that Sarvhitkari Vidya Mandir schools are educational offshoots of RSS, but asserts that “we don’t implement RSS agenda and are not dependent on RSS for schools’ functioning”.

Asserting that regional preferences were always accorded top priority, he told The Indian Express, “Punjabi is not at all being ignored in our schools in Punjab. States like Haryana and UP may have been promoting Hindi in these schools there, but that is not the case in Punjab. If in our schools, half of the students chant ‘Radhe Radhe’ and other half say ‘Bole so Nihal’, what can we do? We can only try to bring in uniformity in an educational institute.”

Pointing out that English was one of the most sought-after language in Punjab, Shekhar said the hullabaloo over Punjabi language was “misplaced” as “parents want their wards to be proficient in English”.

“Those who are making a fuss over it are making an issue out of a non-issue. I want to ask – is IELTS (International English Language Testing System) conducted in Punjabi? Also, in subjects like physics and biology, the routine and ideal medium of instruction is English. Despite that we try to explain these subjects in Punjabi. The entire controversy is misplaced.”

Last week, gangster-turned-social activist Lakha Sidhana was taken into preventive custody by Bathinda police as he led a protest and had a run-in with the management of Sarvhitkari Vidya Mandir School at Mehraj in the district. Lakha alleged that Punjabi language was being ignored in the school, a charge denied by the school management and the Punjab SES.

“In fact, we will soon be starting an English learning academy at a place in Tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula) to train our teachers in English. It will cater to north zone states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and UTs like Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi,” said Shekhar.

The SES under Vidya Bharati runs as many as 235 informal centres teaching values to students of any school “free of cost”.

The SES has plans to expand these centres called “Bal Sanskar Kendras” by adding 1,000 more to it in Punjab. “We are planning to set up another 1,000 ‘Bal Sanskar Kendras’ in border areas of the state. The idea is to imbibe values in students as the menace of drugs is gripping the border areas. Also, conversions to Christianity are taking place at a large-scale in these areas. The upcoming centres would focus on creating awareness of drug menace and religious conversions,” Shekhar told The Indian Express.

He added, “We have prepared a plan to open these centres by the end of 2025, but since each centre has a running cost of around Rs 40,000 per year, it may take a few more months. Because, we get funding from the society only. Our fee is nominal and 80% of it goes into paying the salaries of teachers and administrative officials. Remaining 20% is spent on upkeep of the schools.” He said there are around 12,500 such schools across the country.

Shekhar said, “It has also been alleged that we have asked students in Punjab to remove ‘kara’ (metal ring worn around wrist). We only dissuade students not to wear heavy ‘kara’ as they can injure students in a scuffle.”

On allegations that Sanskrit was being promoted in the schools in the state, Shekhar said, “Sanskrit is an optional subject, and anyone eager to learn it can opt for that.”

It may be noted that Punjab Learning of Punjabi and Other Languages Act, 2008, makes it mandatory for all schools, including CBSE-affiliated ones in the state, to teach Punjabi as compulsory language in Classes I to X. Any school not adhering to this is liable to face government action.