Agra-based St John’s College circular with a never-heard-before diktat is doing rounds on the net.
The document reads, “It is mandatory for all girls to have at least one boyfriend by 14 February. This has been done for security purposes. A single girl would not be allowed to enter into college premises. They’ll have to show a recent picture with their boyfriends.”
The caption of the post reads: ‘अब आप अगर 14 फेरबौरी को स्कूल जाएं तो अपने साथ अपना बिय फ्रेंड लेकर अन्यथा आपको प्रवेश नहीं मिलेगा क्योंकि velentines डे है उस दिन ऐसे स्कूल क्या शिक्षा देंगे’
(Translation- If you go to school on February 14, you won’t get permission to enter unless your boyfriend is with you because it’s Valentines Day. What will such schools teach on that day)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim and found it to be FAKE.
We carefully examined the document and found that there were some discrepancies in the circular.
The first red flag was that different fonts were used in the Circular.
When we used some keywords and did a Google image search, we found a report by The Free Press Journal, dated January 26, 2021. The headline of the report read, ‘Agra college asks girls to get a boyfriend before Valentine’s Day; principal rubbishes report’.
We further checked the Notices and Highlights section on the college’s website but did not find anything remotely close to the circular.
We then contacted St. John’s College Principal Dr SP Singh for clarification. He confirmed to NewsMobile that the letter is fake and the college is filing an FIR against those responsible for this mischief.
About the college
St. John’s College, Agra, was established in 1850 by the Church Missionary Society of England. The first Principal of the College The Rev. Thomas Valpy French was an alumnus of Oxford University.
The foundation stone of the Centenary Wing was laid by Bharat Ratna Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India, in 1958 and was opened by Bharat Ratna Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, in 1959, with the words “I have come to pay tribute to this temple of learning.”
Notable Alumni
Other notable alumni include SMH Barney, Former Governor of Haryana; Khursheed Alam Khan, former Governor of Karnataka; Janki Ballabh, Former Vigilance Commission; MC Gupta, Former Chief Secretary of Haryana, Aridaman Singh, Former Minister of Road Transport of UP government among others.
Hence, our investigation proves that the circular is fake and no such announcement has been made by the college.
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