The Bengal government has postponed its programme to celebrate the Teachers’ Day and felicitate toppers in board examinations at a time when protests are sweeping the state against the rape and murder of the junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

The programme was scheduled to take place at Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan in the city on September 5.

“This is to inform you that the programme on felicitation to the board toppers, 2024 and felicitation of the eminent teachers & Sera Vidyalayas on 5th September has been postponed. The revised programme schedule will be informed in due course,” reads an order issued by the commissioner of school education on Tuesday.

The decision to postpone the programme, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee was scheduled to be present, became a point of discussion in political and administrative circles as it came in the backdrop of protests carried out by school students in several areas of the state.

“Although the notification did not mention the reason for the postponement, it is clear the government did not want to take a chance. If any of the toppers shouts any slogan in the presence of the chief minister, it would be uncomfortable for the government,” said a senior government official.

According to sources, the government planned to felicitate 61 prominent teachers, 608 board toppers and 13 schools on Teachers’ Day this year.

The education department, which is facing several questions over alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers, had a grand plan to make the Teachers’ Day programme successful.

The 61 teachers get ₹25,000 each and the 13 best schools get ₹1 lakh each.

Each of the 608 board toppers was supposed to be given a laptop, a wristwatch, a medal and a certificate, along with 10 books, which include Gitabitan by Rabindranath Tagore and two books — Kobita Bitan and Alokbartika — by Mamata.

A section of the officials said the government also had plans to transfer ₹10,000 each to the bank accounts of 13 lakh students studying in Class XI and XII on Teachers’ Day to enable them to buy tabs
under a scheme that was launched in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“A total of ₹1,300 crore has been allocated for this purpose. But it is not yet clear whether the funds will be transferred to the bank accounts of the students on the day,” said an official.

Opposition parties mocked the government for postponing the programme, saying Mamata was forced to push back the date as she was afraid of facing questions from students, who were supposed to be felicitated on Teachers’ Day.

“The chief minister is afraid of the agitations launched by the school students across the state. The chief minister has postponed the programme as she realised that she will not be able to keep the students quiet,” said Jagannath Chatterjee, a general secretary of Bengal BJP.