KSU bandh during exams a cruelty to students, says Sivankutty

General Education Minister says the union should withdraw the decision or the Congress should get it to do so

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has condemned the Kerala Students’ Union’s (KSU) declaration of an education bandh at the time of the year-end examinations.

Terming the bandh an atrocity against students, the Minister said the KSU should go back on the decision or the Congress should intervene and get the KSU to withdraw it.

In a statement here on Monday, the Minister said the Congress and its affiliated organisations were making a deliberate attempt to disrupt the education sector at a time when SSLC, higher secondary, and vocational higher secondary examinations were under way in the State.

Public exam today

Both Plus One and Plus Two higher secondary students had a public examination on Tuesday. Over 4.69 lakh students would appear for these examinations on the day. Primary and secondary annual examinations were also on. Calling for a bandh at this juncture gave rise to the suspicion that it was a conspiracy to turn the streets into a battlefield.

The State government, the Minister said, had repeatedly clarified that it was with the family of Sidharthan J.S., the veterinary student found hanging in the college hostel at Pookode in Wayanad. The accused in the case had been apprehended, and the investigation and evidence collection was on. The Congress and its affiliated organisations were trying to politicise the issue and score electoral gains, Mr. Sivankutty said.

Students needed to concentrate a lot during examinations. Trying to disrupt the school environment at this stage was a cruelty towards society. Students should be able to appear for the examinations in a relaxed manner. Besides the police, the public too should come forward to create conditions for the students to appear for the examinations undisturbed, the Minister said.