JAIPUR: Singing the national anthem and national song daily will now be mandatory in all govt schools and offices under Rajasthan’s education, Sanskrit education, and Panchayati Raj departments, education minister Madan Dilawar announced Monday. Additionally, the state will implement a common uniform for all govt and private schools, effective from the 2026 academic session, besides introducing uniforms for teachers. Attendance of officials and staff would be recorded based on their participation in the programmes. “The day will begin with the national anthem and end with the national song… Only those officers, staff, and teachers who are present for the national anthem will be marked present,” Dilawar said, adding that the policy aims to encourage nationalistic fervour among staff and students. A formal order detailing the implementation process will be issued soon, Dilawar said. The order is also expected to outline punitive actions against those who fail to attend, arrive late to the office, or miss the national anthem or national song. “Each school and office will have to submit geo-tagged photographs every day to the department, which will help in monitoring.” Plans are afoot to ensure the national anthem is sung between 9am and 9.15am every morning, Dilawar said. From the next session, students and teachers would be required to carry ID cards, Dilawar said. Govt will implement a mechanism to send SMS-based notifications to parents of govt school students regarding on their wards’ attendance. State govt also plans to drop ties in school uniforms. “We have discussed this with some private school associations. All education department officials at the district, block and panchayat levels will monitor whether the same uniform is being worn in schools. A committee will be formed to decide on the uniform. Boys may likely be asked to wear shirts with trousers or half-pants, and girls, skirts with shirts or salwar-kurta,” Dilawar said.
