Even as government employees in Tamil Nadu have condemned the delay in restoring the old pension scheme as promised, the managements of government-aided minority and non-minority schools have warned the State government of launching a series of agitations over several unresolved issues including inordinate delay in giving appointment approvals.
At its meeting held in Madurai recently, the Committee for Salvaging Rights of Minorities and Non-Minorities Government-aided Schools resolved to intensify their agitations. The move comes in the backdrop of political parties starting their electioneering for the parliamentary elections.
Committee convener Rev. Fr. S.M. John Kennedy, SJ, told The Hindu that a good number of schools being run by religious and linguistic minorities and non-minorities in remote corners of Tamil Nadu were 100 years old and serving poor students through free and quality education. However, the Tamil Nadu government, which claimed to be giving a ‘Dravidian Model’ administration for the welfare of the downtrodden, the oppressed and the minorities, was not extend to the 28 lakh students of minorities and non-minorities government-aided schools the welfare schemes being given to government school students.
Hence, a conference was organised in St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchi, on September 28 to discuss and win the rights of the government-aided minorities and non-minorities schools in which former Justice Hariparanthaman and MLAs M. H. Jawahirullah, Nagai Mali and J.G. Prince and 3,000 teachers participated.
The meeting appealed to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to extend all welfare schemes to the poor students of their schools including 7.5% reservation in higher education, ₹1,000 monthly assistance under Puthumai Penn scheme, breakfast, free English medium instruction and fee incentives for higher education.
“Since the DMK, in its poll manifesto for the Assembly elections 2021, had promised to fulfilll these demands, we backed the party in the election and it returned to power. But, these genuine demands are unfortunately yet to be fulfilled by Mr. Stalin,” Rev. Dr. John Kennedy said.
Even though the government-aided schools being administered by the minorities and the non-minorities had the prescribed students’ strength, officials of the Department of School Education, particularly the Chief Educational Officers and the District Educational Officers, inordinately delayed the approval for teachers appointed in vacancies caused by retirement, resignation and promotion of teachers.
The Chief Minister should also tell the officials in clear terms that the arrears for teachers should be immediately given from their date of appointment. The Tamil Nadu government should withdraw the appeal made in the Supreme Court against the earlier rulings given by the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court and the Madras High Court in cases pertaining to minorities and non-minorities government-aided schools.
While the late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had issued an order in 2011 for giving recognition and grant to the new schools started after 1991 and the upgraded schools, the Stalin-led government was maintaining an eerie silence on the vital issue, thanks to the coterie surrounding the Chief Minister. Hence, Mr. Stalin should take immediate and appropriate steps to implement his father’s order besides removing the norms against the anti-minority schools in the guidelines issued in 2018 and 2023.
“We have planned to meet Archbishop of Mylapore Most Rev. George Antonysamy as we have planned to meet the Chief Minister along with the Archbishop to press our demands. If our efforts do not fructify, the government-aided minorities and non-minorities schools will start a series of agitations, which will intensify in unprecedented manner in the months to come,” said T. Kanagaraj, secretary of the committee.
