KOLKATA: West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) issued a notice on Tuesday to alert all affiliated schools to take necessary steps against using smoking gadgets.
Citing an order issued by the law branch of the school education department on Feb 28 based on a notice by the ministry of education in Dec, the HS council issued a notice on Tuesday that was sent to all the affiliated schools.
The notice signed by WBCHSE president Chiranjib Bhattacharya reads, “All HOIs are advised to take necessary action against use of any kind of smoking gadgets, like e-cigarettes, on school premises and they are further advised strictly to stop selling this kind of harmful items from stationery shops near school or any education institution.”
The notice was issued in the backdrop of two reported complaints during the HS examination this year. Based on these two cases the council decided to alert all the schools.The same notice has been sent to the district inspectors also to sensitise every local administration to restrict selling any harmful items from shops near schools.
Bhattacharya said, “HS schools need to play a vital ro le for the students to make them learn about discipli nes before entering the field of higher education. At the same time it is required to build an awareness against using such banned items for a better future.”
Jadavpur Vidyapith headmaster Partha Pratim Baidya said, “We are concerned about the stationery shops near the school as we don’t have the authority to stop them from selling these things.”