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‘Burqa dance’ video at UP school: Premises sealed for running without approval
The purported video was from an Independence Day event at the school
After the video went viral, the education department sealed the premises on Monday evening. (Representational image enhanced using AI)
Days after a purported video of girl students dancing in burqas during an Independence Day programme at a school in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda went viral, the education department sealed the premises on Monday evening.
Officials claimed the school was operating without the required recognition from the education department.
The department said it took the action after conducting an inquiry into the school, which had started functioning in the current academic session. The school offers classes up to Grade 5.
The video, which emerged on Sunday, allegedly showed four minor girls in burqa dancing to Bollywood and Bhojpuri songs.
When contacted by The Indian Express, school manager Ram Suresh Maurya said the school had started functioning this academic session and that the girls seen dancing in the video were not from a minority community. He then disconnected the call.
Gonda Block Education Officer, Riyaz Ahmed, said the school was sealed as it was being operated without recognition from the office of the Basic Shiksha Adhikari. He said that when he visited the school after the video surfaced, only a few people were present on the six-room campus.
“We locked the school premises. We have asked the authorities of a nearby school to admit the students who were studying here so that their education is not affected,” Ahmed said.
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According to Ahmed, he had first visited the school earlier this month after noticing that it had opened. But classes had already ended that day and only five to seven students and a teacher were present.
“I had asked the school manager to show the recognition documents. The manager told me that recognition was still pending and that the school had started in the current academic session. I asked him not to run the school until it obtained the required recognition,” Ahmed said.
He added, “I also advised the parents of the students present at the school to enrol their children in another school that had the necessary recognition.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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