Grammar Slip in a Bounced Cheque: Principal’s English Lesson Becomes a Statewide Eye-Opener
The Himachal Pradesh government has been proudly sending teachers on expensive foreign tours, with the promise that they will return equipped with modern methods to improve the quality of education in government schools. Yet in Sirmaur, a cheque signed by the principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Ronhat, has done more to expose the state of education than any foreign study trip ever could.
The cheque, worth ₹7,616, did not go viral for its amount but for its linguistic acrobatics. While the digits were accurate, the words turned into internet history: “Seven Thursday Six Harendra Sixty Rupees Only.” One social media user quipped that if Shakespeare were alive, he would have quietly taken retirement after reading it.
For the public, it was comedy gold. For the school system, it was a stinging embarrassment. Social media erupted with questions: if the principal of a senior secondary school can replace “thousand” with “Thursday” and “hundred” with “Harendra,” what hope is left for students? The cheque, many argued, had ceased to be a financial instrument and become a grammatical monument.
To add to the humiliation, sources confirmed that the bank rejected the cheque, forcing the school to issue a corrected one. But by then, the image of the original bounced cheque had spread across social media like wildfire, amplifying the ridicule.
The irony was hard to miss: the same government that boasts about “quality education” is footing hefty bills to send teachers abroad for training. Perhaps, critics suggest, a brief stop in Shimla for a basic English refresher would save taxpayers a fortune before anyone heads to Singapore or elsewhere.
Opinions have since split online. Critics argue that such an error damages the credibility of the entire institution. Defenders shrug, saying everyone makes spelling mistakes. But spelling errors rarely come stamped with an official seal, a signature, and taxpayers’ money. Attempts to reach the school principal for comment on the viral cheque proved unsuccessful.
In the end, one cheque has achieved what circulars, policies, and campaigns could not—it has forced everyone to confront the real condition of government schools. And until the system ensures that “seven thousand six hundred sixteen” is written exactly as it should be, no number of foreign tours will rescue the credibility of public education.
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