In a U-turn, the State government has decided that teachers need not deliver cards containing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s message directly to students who have taken admission to class 1.
The message can be sent to students through post or WhatsApp or other online mechanisms, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty said at the release of the ‘Pravesanotsavam’ song on Sunday.
The Director of General Education, in a statement later in the day, said the message could be delivered to students on the occasion of distribution of textbooks or uniforms.
A row had erupted over a circular issued on Saturday asking teachers to deliver cards containing the Chief Minister’s message to students before the ‘Pravesanotsavam.’
Opposition-backed teachers’ organisations and the pro-Left All Kerala School Teachers’ Union had come out against the circular.
The move had been criticised as being politically motivated and illogical, especially in the wake of the Statewide lockdown. They had pointed out that instead of asking teachers to deliver the message cards, the message could be telecast on KITE Victers channel at the inauguration of ‘Pravesanotsavam’ that would be watched by students and their parents.
The Chief Minister is expected to inaugurate the celebrations. Other options such as student WhatsApp groups were also available for disseminating the message.
The issue was also not discussed with teachers at the Quality Improvement Programme monitoring committee meeting held recently, the Kerala Pradesh School Teachers’ Association said.
The message cards have been printed by the Kerala Books and Publishing Society. In his message, the Chief Minister urged the students to be utmost vigilant, observe COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, and survive the scourge so that they could return to school once it ended.
