The School Education Department has warned headmasters and teachers of disciplinary action if they allowed students to display caste symbols on the campus. The department referred to an instance where some students glorified slain forest brigand Veerappan by displaying a T-shirt with his photo at an annual day event in Krishnagiri district recently.
The students of Soppanur Government High School danced to a movie song and also wore clothes representing a political party. This led to parents of other students expressing their displeasure and also refusing to send their wards to school.
Some of them lodged complaints with the authorities concerned, sources in the School Education Department said. In a communication sent to Chief Education Officers (CEO) of all districts last week, the Director of School Education said that the issue of students showcasing caste sentiments had resulted in a backlash in the form of complaints from the public.
Playing movie songs or allowing students to wear any symbol that might represent a community should not be allowed.
In case such complaints were received, disciplinary action would be taken against the headmaster and teachers.
CEOs were also informed that the State Government had sanctioned ₹15 crore for conducting annual day programmes in government schools to promote the literary and cultural talents of students. There have been a number of instances where school students wore wristbands or ribbons to show their caste identity.
The Tamil Nadu Fifth Police Commission report also asked the Education Department to be sensitive to caste discriminatory practices in government and government-aided schools where the problem was acute.
The report said the government had banned wearing of caste-related colour wristbands or ribbon by the students and recommended that caste-neutral white or black ribbons may be permitted uniformly across the State.
Schools that were prone to caste discrimination should not have many teachers belonging to the dominant community.
The police commission went on to recommend that tough action be taken against teachers who promoted caste discrimination by transferring them to far off places.
“Headmasters and teachers have an onerous and profound responsibility in guiding the children in the right direction. All government and government-aided schools may be brought under the coverage of an extensive CCTV network to identify students who bully other students,” the report said.
Published – April 16, 2025 12:55 am IST
