Anjuman Islamia English School in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, sparked controversy by declaring Jumma Day (Friday) as a weekly holiday instead of Sunday, disregarding government regulations that mandate Sunday as the official weekly off.
The school management informed parents through a WhatsApp group that from now on, Friday would be a holiday and school would remain open on Sunday.
This decision led to widespread dissatisfaction among parents and soon escalated into a larger issue. The BJP minority front opposed the move and filed a complaint with the district administration and education officers, demanding action against the school management. According to media reports, following the complaints, an education department team reached the school and broke the lock on the main gate.
Following investigations, the Anjuman Islamia board officials admitted their mistake and revoked the order to make Friday a holiday. The school manager, Annu Anwar, explained that many students used to miss school on Fridays due to jumma prayers, so the school committee had taken this decision. However, after facing objections from the public, the order was immediately withdrawn, and the school will continue to observe Sunday as the weekly holiday as before.
The controversy sparked a heated debate in the city, with some viewing the decision as a practical solution to student attendance issues on Fridays, while others criticized it as an interference based on religious grounds. The school management maintains that the decision was taken in the best interests of the students’ education but accepted the directive from authorities and parents to revert the timing.
Anjuman Islamia Waqf Board manages four other schools and a college in the city, where Friday holidays had been observed for years due to the Muslim-majority student population. The Jabalpur English medium school in question is among the six institutions under their banner and has about 700 students.
