False and misleading reports of school and college closures are being shared on social media platforms due to the increasing coronavirus infection in the country. Fact Crescendo has fact-checked many such viral posts. The picture of one such circular is going viral on social media with the claim that in view of the coronavirus infection in Bihar, the Bihar Education Project Council issued an order to close all government and non-government schools till April 15 or June 15 this year (2021).
The title of the post going viral reads, “School closed in Bihar.”
Fact Check-
We started our investigation by carefully observing the viral circular and found that in the first paragraph it is written that all the government and non-government schools in Bihar will remain closed till 15 June, on the other hand, in the first sentence written below this circular, it is written that all the government and the non-government school will be closed until 15 April in public health and public interest.
After this we ran a keyword search on Google, the results did not lead us to any news article which could confirm that Bihar Education Project Council has ordered the closure of all schools in Bihar by April 15 or June 15 this year.
Next, Fact Crescendo contacted Vibha Kumari, the state program officer of the Community Mobilization and Media of the Bihar Education Project Council, while calling this order fake, she said, “The viral news is false and misleading. The circular is fake and has not been issued by us. The circular is digitally edited on the letter pad of Bihar Education Project Council which is now being shared on social media to mislead people and create panic among citizens.”
Vibha Kumari told us that offline schools have already started in Bihar.
She also told us that Sanjay Kumar Singh, the State Project Director of Bihar Project Council, has also released a video of himself as a clarification.
After this, we ran a keyword search on Google, where we found a video of Sanjay Kumar Singh on the Bihar Education Department Facebook page. In the video he can be seen clarifying that the order going viral is fake and he has not taken any decision to close the school.
Conclusion: Fact Crescendo found the above-mentioned post to be False. Bihar Education Project Council has not issued any such order. The viral circular is fake.
Title:Bihar Education Project Council has not issued an order to close down schools
Fact Check By: Aavya RayResult: False
