Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 21: A school in the city has allegedly denied admission to a boy whose parents did not fill the religion column in the application form, prompting the Kerala education department to seek a report.
The parents, Naseem and Dhayna, had sought admission for their son to the first standard at the St Mary's school, a government-aided institution. They alleged that school authorities had claimed that registration will not be possible on the education department's 'Sampoorna' portal without filling the 'religion' column.
"We were informed by the school authorities that it was not possible to give admission to our child as we wrote 'nil' in the religion column. They claimed that if nil is mentioned, the admission process will not get registered in the school management software of the education department," Naseem said.
Sampoorna is a school management system project implemented by the Kerala education department to automate the system and process of over 15,000 schools in the state.
The parents later approached the ministry and the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) to get further clarification.
"The state government officials denied that there were any issues with the software and confirmed to us that the admission process was going on.
When we approached the school authorities again, they asked us to give in writing that we, the parents will take responsibility of any issues that may occur in the future," Naseem said.
The parents then decided not to enroll their son at the school due to the manner in which the issue was handled by the institution. Reacting swiftly, the state government sought a report from the DPI and the deputy director of the education department on the matter.
"We have asked the DPI and the deputy director of the education department to look into the matter and file a report as soon as possible," Education minister C Raveendranath told PTI. The parents said after the news spread, a school official called them offering admission.
"But we decided not to enroll him there due to the approach of the school authorities," he said.
Naseem runs a catering business after returning from the Gulf.
The school management in a release claimed that they sought a letter in writing from the parents to avoid trouble in the future. "When school authorities asked why the religion column was left blank, the parents said they were not interested in filling that part. The parents have that right.
But most benefits given by the government to school children are based on religion. We just wanted to ensure that the parents take the responsibility in case the student misses out any such benefits in the future," the management said.
School authorities maintained they never denied admission to any student. The parents are now looking for admission for their son in other schools in Thiruvanathapuram.
Ravindranath recently claimed in the state Assembly that over one lakh children in Kerala had left columns relating to caste and religion blank in school admission records during the 2017-18 academic year. In a written reply, he said as many as 1,24,147 children had not filled these columns while enrolling in different classes in government and government-aided schools during the period.
Responding to queries of media persons regarding the anti-hijab agitation in some colleges in the state by Sangah Parivar backed students, the minister said thathijab' should not be identified with any religion.
Comments
Sreenivasa for you if u say all muslims goto GCC country to follow the rukes of islam thn were you will send the to the rajsthani women everyone cover there head even we cant see there face until they show there face and even many hindus also use to cover there head with there saree and were you will send thm can you tell me whn you people do pooja u also cover your head with ur saree or duppata wht abt tht were you will send GCC or the other country do u have dont blame other religons they do wht they blive india is not made only for RSS and hindus india is of maltiple religon and maltiple caste and multiple festivle dont blame others b like a brother if u cant let others live like brothers dont try to do brain wash of good hindus ok
@shrinivas.
That means Sita mata is Muslim. we can see that Sita Mata is wearing hijab in all her pictures and idols.
Dear Srinivas, the comments from your side shows how much childish you are. If eductaed, they will utter these type of words. India Is the country for all religon and practicing their faith is given to every one by constitution. If you think that you are not happy with this , you can search for the place of your choice , where you can practice your faith. So don't try to misguide the people. Simply relcoate yourself to the place where you can practice your religion. India is not suitable for people like you. Because in india every one want to live togtehr. If we united we can develop. If we devided we will perish. That what otehr countries want with india.
@ Srinivasa, why you people are wearing threads around wrist and Panganama on foreheads.... Any one is opposing... that is your culture and ideology .....Dear Sini, have you checked the reality... have you seen girls covering their faces in the CLASS ROOM
@srinivaasa. If Hindus want hindutwa and blah blah blah let them go to Nepal. India is the country of Muslims, Hindus, christian, and many more .. in short it's the country of Indians. And coming back to sharia.. it's the constitution rights what Muslims
whether you take it as positive or negative, my comments upon the subject is: Dear non hijab ladies, Kindly don't start to wear hijab. you want to expose your figures to public and public simply enjoys it. i too feeling lot of things in my mind. it just because of you only force me to think such manner. specially young ladies (College Students) whoever not wearing hijab please don't wear. if you start wear it is very boring to come out from the home.
Good move from the education minister, thank you sir. India is a secular nation and anyone can follow their own tradition and custom.
@Sreenivas, dont provoke the matter, instead of wasting your time in getting yourself provoked please understand with any good muslim person about Sharia Law by that you will come to know what Islam is and what it teaches, you said to follow sharia we should go to muslim countries (LOL). Everywhere you find Islam you will find sharia law. My brother please dont provoke any matter and dont come to conclusion soon.
Such issues began only after communal force came into power,
If sita mata can wear hijab. Then all hindu womens should wear hijab.
Add new comment