Teachers in Punjab on Wednesday said it was not practically possible to hold Independence Day functions in the government schools on August 15 as educationist and students often attend tehsil or district level functions while educational institutions remain closed on account of the day being a national holiday.The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday issued an order directing the Punjab chief secretary to undertake a statewide verification exercise with district-wise details of schools where the Independence Day celebrations were held or not held, along with documentary evidence and explanations, and to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) within four weeks.The notice has been issued by a single bench of the NHRC, headed by Priyank Kanoongo, who took cognizance of a complaint by an NGO alleging “non-observance” of I-Day function in some state-run schools in Punjab, especially in rural and border areas.In a series of posts on X, Kanoongo said he had visited some schools in Punjab’s border district Fazilka on August 15 and participated in the I-Day at Government Primary School (GPS) at Dona Nanka, claiming that it was “the “only village” where such a programme was held. “Rest all schools we visited were lying locked,” he claimed.Speaking to the Indian Express, teachers, however, said that it was wrong to say that government schools did not observe I-Day.A teacher from Fazilka district, who heads a cluster of 11 schools, said: “Majority schools under my supervision held I-Day function on August 14. On August 15, teachers are on duty at tehsil or district-level programmes. Most students too perform at such functions on August 15, so practically it is not possible to hold and attend two functions. In all other schools, I-Day was observed just like we do every year. Also, August 15 is a national holiday, so it is never mandatory for the students to attend events at school.”“The attendance of teachers and children who participate in I-Day functions, is always duly marked,” said another teacher.Story continues below this adRajeev Chagti, head teacher, GPS Dona Nanka said they organized the function after receiving Kanoongo’s schedule in advance. “It is not possible to hold functions in all schools as both teachers and children participate in district-level celebrations,” he said.Jagwinderjit Singh Grewal, additional deputy commissioner, Fazilka, said: “The NHRC member had appreciated the Dona Nanka school function in my presence. He had enquired from locals that why the function was not held in all schools, and was told that it was practically impossible as teachers and children participate in district-level function.”While Punjab Education Secretary Sonali Giri termed Kanoongo’s allegations as baseless, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said Punjab does not need a certificate of patriotism. “Ninety per cent of those who sacrificed their lives in the freedom struggle were from Punjab,” he said.A native of Madhya Pradesh is a two-time former chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).Story continues below this adAccording to his profile on the official NHRC website, Kanoongo was “inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision on digitization”, so he “digitized the existing monitoring mechanism in NCPCR and launched 8 portals for monitoring of various child related Acts/Laws.”Inspired by PM’s “Pariksha Pe Charcha” initiative, Kanoongo organized 200 district-level “Parkisha-Parv” events on issue of exam stress among children.The profile further states that he was the “Youngest chairperson” of the NCPCR, heading it for two consecutive terms from 2018 to 2021 and from 2021 to 2024. He has also authored a book — Pinjra- The Cage — that presents an account of the lives of children in child care institutions.