A cheque that bounced on grammar: Principal’s English slip becomes a lesson for state

The Himachal Pradesh government has been proudly sending teachers on costly foreign exposure visits so they may return brimming with new methods to uplift the quality of education in government schools. But back home 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 overseas study tour ever could.

The cheque, worth Rs 7,616, has gone viral not for the money it carried, but for the linguistic acrobatics it displayed. While the numbers were correctly penned, the words have etched themselves into internet history: “Saven Thursday six Harendra sixty rupees only”. One social media user remarked that if Shakespeare were alive, he might have quietly retired after reading this.

For the public, it was comedy gold. For the school system, a punch in the gut. Social media is buzzing with questions: if the head of a senior secondary school writes “Thursday” instead of “Thousand” and “Harendra” instead of “Hundred”, what hope remains for the students? The cheque has become less a financial instrument and more a grammatical monument.

Adding to the embarrassment, sources revealed that the cheque was rejected by the bank, forcing the school to issue a corrected one. The photo of the original rejected cheque, however, found its way to social media and has since spread like wildfire, amplifying the ridicule.

Ironically, the same government that preaches quality education is footing hefty bills to send teachers abroad for training. Perhaps, before landing in Singapore or other countries, a stopover at a basic English language refresher in Shimla might save taxpayers a fortune.

Social media critics argue this single mistake reflects poorly on an entire institution. Defenders shrug and say everyone makes spelling errors. But rarely do spelling errors carry official stamps, signatures and the weight of public money. Efforts were made to contact the school principal to seek their response on the viral cheque, but despite attempts, they could not be reached.

At the end of the day, one cheque has succeeded in doing what government circulars, policies and campaigns have failed to — it has made everyone talk about 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.