Education should not be seen as a mere commodity traded with an eye on profit alone, writer and Jnanpith laureate M.T. Vasudevan Nair said on Wednesday.
He was inaugurating a cultural convention organised by the Kerala School Teachers’ Association (KSTA) at the Aided Upper Primary School, Malaparamba, which is being reconstructed now.
The writer, who lamented the fate of the school, which was demolished allegedly by its manager after obtaining government sanction to close it down a month ago, said that no other schools should suffer a similar fate. “The large-scale protest against the demolition is proof of the fact that we have not yet lost all our righteousness and commitment to society,” he said.
Mr. Vasudevan Nair also said that most of the public sector undertakings in the Statewould have to be wound up if they were to be assessed strictly on profitability.Expressing his relief in the reconstruction work of the school, Mr. Vasudevan Nair said he was ready to donate whatever possible for the purpose. “It is our common dream to see this school resume classes,” he said. The writer also suggested that a project, with a possible name ‘Ente Vidhyalayam,’ be floated across the State to raise funds for developing the infrastructure schools from their alumni. He said they would only be happy to give something back to their alma mater. “Such an initiative can completely change the future of our public schools for good,” he said.
Mr. Vasudevan Nair also inaugurated a signature campaign organised by the association against the “cultural fascism” of the school management.
KSTA State president K.N. Sukumaran, who presided over the function, handed over to Mayor A.K. Premajam Rs.2 lakh collected by the State committee of the association to the school reconstruction fund. A. Pradeepkumar, MLA; Ms. Premajam; Deputy Mayor P.T. Abdul Latheef; historian K.N. Ganesh, and writers P.K. Gopi and K.T. Kunhikkannan spoke, among others.
