SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam General Education Minister N Samsudheen on Wednesday, August 19, said the stay on the suspension of a teacher for framing a “wrong question” regarding Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar was not a setback for the government.
The minister said that the grant of an interim stay was nothing extraordinary and was done in the normal course for such matters.
The government will explain in court its stand on the matter and the alleged wrong committed by the teacher,” he told a TV channel.
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday stayed the suspension of the teacher — Guruprasad Rai K of AUP School Pallathadukka, for a month, saying it was not required for the proper conduct of the enquiry against him in view of the nature of the allegations he was facing.
At the same time, the court said that taking into consideration the allegation against Rai, the enquiry shall continue.
“I’m inclined to pass an interim order staying the operation of…order of suspension for a period of one month. But I’m permitting the disciplinary proceedings to continue,” Justice Viju Abraham said.
The case stems from an inter-school Social Science Club Freedom Quiz held in Kasaragod on August 6. In the quiz, one question asked which freedom fighter had gotten maximum punishment from the British. The answer was given as VD Savarkar.
The teacher was subsequently suspended on August 9. Following the controversy, the General Education Department had ordered a probe, after which Kasaragod’s Deputy Director of Education recommended action against individuals responsible for preparing the quiz.
Political storm after controversy
The quiz soon triggered a political storm with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] criticising the question. The party accused the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government of promoting the saffronisation of education. Pinarayi Vijayan had claimed that the portrayal of Savarkar in a particular light was part of a bigger political agenda.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supported the teacher and strongly objected to his suspension. BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said the question was “historically accurate” and urged the withdrawal of the suspension.
Minister refers to a recent murder case, says education in school should curb such incidents
Education Minister Samsudheen referred to the recent murder of an elderly man in Alappuzha district allegedly by teenagers as an isolated incident.
In order to curb such incidents, the education being imparted to children in schools includes advice and directions to avoid violence and criminal acts.
Such activities will be increased going forward, he added.
Four teenagers, including a 13-year-old girl, have been apprehended for allegedly killing an elderly man for money.
The accused girl, an eighth-standard student, was a close relative of the deceased man, 65-year-old Sivankutty of Karuvatta in Alappuzha district.
The three other minors, friends of the accused girl, hailed from Paravur in Kollam district, police had said.
According to the police, Sivankutty was found dead inside his house on Monday morning, August 17, while his wife and daughter were away at a hospital at the time.
The chain he was wearing and the gold kept in the house were reportedly missing.
Police suspect that the accused wanted to steal money to buy a high-end mobile and a bike, and the murder occurred during the theft attempt.
SOURCE : SIASAT
