The notice dates October 9, reads, "No school will keep exhibits of animals or plants under and schedule of Wildlife Protection Act 1972". CBSE warned inspections would be carried out by its regional officers and legal action initiated against defaulting schools under the said Act, which makes offenses non-bailable.
Under Wildlife Protection Act, no school can keep specimen of listed plants or animals. The list includes pitcher plants, corals, frogs, snakes, birds, reptiles, sharks, starfish, guinea pigs, rabbits, ducks, hamsters and white mice and their parts, including skeletons, bones, foetus, feathers and skins.
CBSE senior official from Chennai region (Which also covers Maharashtra) said "We instructed schools to discontinue use of rare plants and animals and also not to keep live animals as exhibits in labs twice before, once in November 2010 and later in May 2012. However, it has been brought to our notice that some schools are still using prohibited animals and plants. We have also received complaints about schools keeping live animals in captivity for study. This time legal action will be taken".
No school can display live animals without Central Zoo Authority permission. CBSE has asked schools to use alternative teaching aids such as models, photographs and videos.
The official said "We have instructed all schools to use virtual images and models." Deepshikha Srivastava, Principal of Rajhans Vidhaylaya in Andheri said "Several Companies in India have introduced software to be conduct lab experiments through simulation. There is absolutely no need to kill animals and plants when we can conduct experiments with the help of the internet and computer graphics.
What do you feel about this notice sent to schools across India. Well, they have no rights to harm any of the living animals or plants for the sake of teaching. What say?