Students of different schools in Chennai have been reacting to the killing of the 141 people in a Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar.
On Wednesday, several schools observed silence for two minutes and some invited their students to speak on the subject. Many schools also held candle-light vigil.
S. Amudhalakshmi, principal of Chettinad Vidyashram, said: “It was disturbing news. We educated children on the importance of being faithful to our motherland.”
Students must be aware of the prevalence of violence, another school principal said. “Violence and terrorism have entered every sphere. Children should learn to identify bad incidents and be alert,” he said.
V. Santhanam, secretary of SCS Matriculation Higher Secondary School, said: “Terrorism is not acceptable to anyone in any country, and particularly school children should be protected from terror attacks.”
Students have also come out strongly against the attack.
M. Sudarshan Kailash, a Class VI student, asked why the terrorists had to target schoolchildren. “I saw some children tried to protect others. The entire episode made us very sad,” he said.
Students like S. Prahaladh and S. Karthik pray that something like this did not happen to any other child.
K.J.J. Subasini, a Class VII student, questioned the terrorists’ motive. “When the world has moved into the 21 century, why is the Taliban still stuck in the past,” she asked.
Higher secondary students S. Sanjana and B. Bhavanapawan wanted those responsible for the attack punished.
Parents had a tough task answering their children’s queries on the massacre. Naveen Chowdary Tummala, a resident of Thiruvanmiyur, said: “My nine-year-old son asked me why they shot children in a war, since only soldiers fight wars. At his age, how can I expect him to form an opinion on this cruel madness?”
No formal directive issued to schools
R. Sujatha reports:
CHENNAI: Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked schools to observe silence for two minutes on Thursday in memory of those who died in the Peshawar school attack, the Tamil Nadu School Education Department did not issue any such directive to schools. Department officials confirmed that they had not issued any directive.
Schools belonging to the Tamil Nadu Nursery, Primary, Matriculation and CBSE Schools Association carried forward the Prime Minister’s message, says its general secretary K.R. Nandakumar. “We did not receive any circular, but we have asked the principals of various schools over voicemail to conduct a special meeting,” he says.
Mr. Nandakumar points out that even the Clean India Campaign announced by Mr. Modi was not communicated to the schools. “CBSE schools received Wednesday’s circular by mail, but schools under the control of the State government were not intimated.”
However, some teachers on their own educate children on values.
A. Annadurai, headmaster of the Pungavadi Panchayat Union Middle School in Salem district, says: “We followed the rules of the Government Order 264, which stipulate that every Monday we read out important headlines from a newspaper at the prayer meeting. Today, we conducted a special prayer for the injured children and the families of the dead students [of Peshawar].”
