It has been 18 days since the Janakeeya Prathirodha Samithi started protest against the closure notice issued an Aided UP school at Malapparamba in Kozhikode.
The samithi, with people from all sections of the society irrespective of party lines as its members, is determined to continue the protest until the Director of Public Instruction revokes the order.
“This is not about one single school. If we did not protect this school, it will be a precedent for all those managements that are trying to get any loophole to close down their schools. Thus, within a few years, thousands of small schools will close down in the State and all that we have achieved in terms of primary education will crumble,” explained R.K. Iravil, Hindi teacher at the school and a major campaigner for the cause.
The trouble started for Malapparamba AUP School in 2014 when despite strong protest from the public and Parent Teacher Association, the school management razed the building down one fine morning. What followed was a mass movement without parallel. The school protection committee headed by noted theatre activist Bhasi Malapparamba raised up to Rs.20 lakh from the public and reconstructed the school within months.
It was a day of celebration for the whole locality when the school reopened in June 2014 and a fresh batch of tiny tots stepped into the campus.
However, the management continued its efforts to close down the school and earned an order in its favour from the High Court of Kerala upon which the DPI’s closure notice was based.
“There are 51 students at the school now of whom four are differently abled. In addition, 25 new students have been enrolled for the coming academic year. If this school closes down, there is no other UP school within two kms. This will put an end to the education of most of these students who cannot afford private schools,” Mr. Iravil said.
The school protection committee is strongly supported by MLA, A.Pradeep Kumar and M.K. Raghavan, MP. Upon the recommendation of the duo and the pressure from all quarters, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has agreed to file a counter-affidavit in the High Court and also to freeze the closure notice temporarily.
