Ramgarh (Jharkhand): A school in Jharkhand was embroiled in a controversy for putting up the photo of Pakistan's Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. The villagers opposed putting the Pakistani social activist's photo. On the other hand, the headmaster and teachers of the school stated that there was nothing wrong with putting the photo. However, the photo was removed from the school after the controversy.
The incident was related to the government school situated in the Kuju area in the Ramgarh district of the state. The village head while expressing displeasure, said, "We should follow the Constitution and law of the land while running a government school. There were so many great personalities the country had produced. It would be advisable to use the photographs of those personalities."
A school teacher said, "The purpose of using the photograph of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai simply was to motivate girl students. She showed the world the power of education. The gritty girl from Pakistan was a role model for others. She not only studied despite the threat, but also came forward to educate the girl students of the entire region in Pakistan. For achieving a remarkable feat, Malala was bestowed with a Nobel prize."
On the other hand, the school principal Ravindra Prasad said, "There was no order from the higher-ups to put up the photo of Pakistan's Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. It was done with the sole purpose to encourage the girl students to continue their education." Neelam Sharma, the officer of the education department, was asked to comment on the issue, but the officer did not say anything.
