Kerala govt warns against ‘communalisation’ of schools

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Sunday dismissed reports that private school administrations put limitations on celebrations of Christmas and returned money to children to celebrate the festival.

The government has warned that schools will also not be allowed to become “communal laboratories.”

“These kinds of incidents are rare in states like Kerala, which display strong democratic awareness and have a longstanding commitment to secularity, they said,”

“Nobody will be allowed to bring the north Indian models which separate people on the basis of their religions or belief into the educational institutions in Kerala,” General Education Minister V Sivankutty told the press here.

In some private schools, the management called off the celebrations upon collecting money from the participants, then refunding it. This act was "cruel" because it amounts to causing harm to children.

All educational institutions, whether aided or unaided, are necessarily governed by the Constitution of India and the education rules and laws of the country and are also obliged to maintain the spirit of secularism, according to Sivankutty.

Threatening tough action against those practices, the minister stated that schools would not be allowed to become places for serving political or communal purposes.

"Marking restrictions selectively on the celebrations of any one section of people amount to discrimination, and it will not be accepted," he stated.

Sivankutty further emphasized that the initiation of anything that would weaken the dignity and tradition of the public educational system of Kerala would never be allowed.

According to the minister, guidelines have also been given to officials on investigating this issue and submitting a report on it. This is what the minister said, "The minister further said," The minister of General Education has also said that there have been complaints filed by students, as well as their parents, about the process of mandatory special classes conducted at schools during this Christmas holiday season. Special classes should not be conducted during holiday periods, according to this minister.