Many Urdu schools in the city have been accused of not sticking to the academic calender of events mandated by the Department of Public Instruction. Parents said many Urdu schools were working full day on Fridays although they are supposed to work only for half a day.
Some other schools were functioning on Sundays and were declaring an off in the middle of the week, parents complained.
There are over 5,200 aided and unaided Urdu schools in the State.
The department had issued an order stating that from December 2016 all Urdu schools would have a common weekly holiday and that they should remain shut on Sundays. The department had stated that the schools would function for half a day on Fridays, but unlike other schools, they will have a full day on Saturdays.
However, over a dozen Urdu schools in the city are said to be not following the uniform holiday on Sundays. A parent whose two children study in different Urdu schools in the city said, “My son has a holiday on Sundays, while my daughter has a holiday on Fridays. It becomes very difficult for us to make any plans.”
Yousuff Aslam Khan, president, Karnataka State Urdu SDMC Federation, said although the department rules mandated that a common holiday should apply to all schools, several city-based schools were violating this. “As many Urdu schools run on the premises of mosques, conducting classes on Friday evening becomes very difficult as prayers are offered. Despite this, teachers conduct the classes as they do not want to teach full day on Saturdays. Many students also are unable to go for prayers on Friday because of this,” he said.
The rules, besides making it convenient for students and parents, were introduced to improve educational standards and enrolment. Sources in the Education Department said that officers were surprised to find that schools were closed in the middle of the week and they were unable to conduct inspections.