Edu dept serves notice to man for spreading fake news

MASS PROMOTION

Edu dept serves notice to man for spreading fake news

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:31.01.2021

The director of primary education has served a notice to a person for his alleged role in spreading fake news on social media regarding mass promotion for school students in the ongoing academic year.

The state education department has given a week’s time for the person to reply, failing which the government might take strict action.

“If the respondent does not reply within seven days, we will conclude that he does not have anything to say in his defence. As a result, we will look into the option of taking legal action against him,” said an official in the know of the matter.

The person is question has in the past raised issues regarding fees taken by schools, said sources.

Recently, a message in the social media was spread with misinformation about giving mass promotion from Class 1 to Class 8 students, the department said.

After receiving several calls from parents, students and teachers for verification of the social media message, the department began inquiry about the origin of the message.

“It was found after proper investigation that the messages were sent from a mobile number which belonged to the person alleged to be behind this. It seemed a deliberate attempt to create fake news and spread misinformation,” sources said.

Schools and colleges partially reopened in January after being shut down for over nine months due to Covid-19 outbreak and consequent lockdown.

The state government had given mass promotion to schoolchildren last year in the wake of the pandemic. The state education minister and other senior department officials have time and again reiterated that no such move is planned for the current academic year.