Education dept to order probe into keeping children in sweltering heat for greeting CM

Thiruvananthapuram: S. Shanavas, the Director of General Education said that an investigation will be conducted into the incident where school children were made to participate in the Nava Kerala Sada during school hours. Following the intervention of the High Court, the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights also decided to seek legal advice on the further actions to be taken on the complaint submitted to it.

The action is on cards after photographs of pre-primary and primary students of Thuyyam School at Edappal in Malappuram waiting on the roadside were circulated a few days ago. According to reports, about 50 children were made to wait by the roadside between 1-2 pm, until the bus and the convoy passed. Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF) lodged a complaint with the commission and the High Court regarding this. 

The commission issued notices to the Deputy Director of Education, the Education Officer of the Panoor sub-district, and the school authorities for making the children stand for an hour in the scorching heat to greet the Chief Minister as he passed through the area.

The officials have been asked to submit their explanations within 15 days. Students from Champad Lower Primary School, Chothavoor High School, and Champad West Upper Primary School were made to stand along the Thalassery-Kuthuparamba road for one hour.

 

In a similar incident, schoolchildren were brought to the roadside to greet Nava Kerala Sadas in Edappal the other day. The Director of General Education clarified that the government planned to take school children for Nava Kerala Sadas only after seeking permission from the Children’s Commission. The Director said that the children were taken to greet the CM without the knowledge of the Education department and the government.