MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday directed the Principal Secretary of the Tamil Nadu School Education Department to inquire into and take appropriate action on a petitioner’s complaint alleging the involvement of government school students in political mobilisation at a government function in Karaikudi attended by elected representatives of the ruling TVK.
The division bench comprising Justices P Velmurugan and KK Ramakrishnan also directed the Principal Secretary to file a report before the court. The court adjourned the case for four weeks.
The petitioner, advocate Theeran Thirumurugan of Madurai, said in his Public Interest Litigation that he was shocked to find widely circulated videos showing students of Alagappa Model Higher Secondary School in Karaikudi allegedly raising slogans of “TVK...TVK” during a government function held on August 3 in the presence of dignitaries, including a Minister. The videos and media reports also created an impression that the slogans were not immediately restrained, he contended.
The petitioner said schools must remain insulated from partisan political influence as students are minors and at a formative stage of intellectual and emotional development. Educational institutions should instead foster independent thought, scientific temper, constitutional morality and democratic values, he said.
“Irrespective of the political party involved, school students should neither be encouraged nor permitted to participate in partisan political slogans, political campaigns or political demonstrations within educational institutions or during official government functions conducted on school premises,” he said.
If such practices continued unchecked, government schools and other educational institutions could gradually become platforms for political mobilisation, compromising the objective of providing children with a free, fair, impartial and politically neutral educational environment, he contended.
The petitioner further contended that the issue was not confined to one school. There were no comprehensive State-wide SOPs or binding administrative guidelines governing political activities during government functions on school campuses, he said, adding that the absence of such guidelines could result in similar incidents recurring across the State.
He had submitted a representation to the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary of the School Education Department on August 3, seeking an inquiry into the reported incident and formulation of State-wide guidelines to prevent the use of school students and educational institutions for partisan political activities. As he received no effective response, he approached the High Court.