Decision on green boards immature, says Pinarayi

Society should oppose communalisation of education: Pinarayi

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State unit secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has flayed the move to introduce green boards in school classrooms to replace black boards, stating that such moves will have far reaching consequences in the education sector.

Speaking at a function organised by the Kerala School Teachers’ Association (KSTA) here on Sunday, the CPI(M) leader said that while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre was trying to saffronise the education sector, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) was attempting to turn it into green.

‘No expert panel’

Mr. Vijayan was referring to the controversy over the use of green boards in several schools, including a school in the constituency of Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb.

Mr. Vijayan said the move to replace black boards with green writing boards was immature. Normally such changes would have to be introduced on the basis of the recommendations of an expert panel, he said adding that no such committee had been formed.

Society should come forward to oppose communalisation of public education, he said.

Accusing the United Democratic Front (UDF) government of destroying public education, he said that only the rich could now afford to get better education, thanks to the policies of the UDF government.

At the Centre, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was now directly controlling the Narendra Modi government, Mr. Vijayan said.

SJ(D) sees plot

Staff Reporter adds from Malappuram: Abraham P. Mathew, Socialist Janata (Democratic) [SJ(D)] leader and former Syndicate member of Calicut University, said here on Sunday that the controversy over the use of green board at schools was kicked up with ulterior motives.

He said it was unfortunate that people created such unwanted controversies even as academic bodies, University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), were promoting the use of green board in classrooms. “Green boards are preferred the world over as the surface is smoother and it causes less friction and less consumption of chalk, said Mr. Mathew, Principal of Mar Thoma College, Chungathara.