The Kerala government has decided to roll back the ban on Navamukunda Higher Secondary School, Thirunavaya, Malappuram, and Mar Basil Higher Secondary School, Kothamangalam, Ernakulam, from participating in the State school sports meet in the 2025-26 academic year.
An order withdrawing the Director of General Education’s ban order dated January 2 will be published in a week, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty said in reply to a submission by Antony John, MLA, in the Assembly on Thursday.
The two schools had expressed regret for the protests at the valedictory of the Kerala School Sports & Games held in Kochi from November 4 to 11, 2024. Their letter also clarified that care would be taken to prevent such incidents at the meet.
Explaining the reasons for the withdrawal of the ban, the Minister said the Chief Minister had intervened in the matter, and demanded that action that adversely affected students taking part in sports meets, including national events, should be avoided. Speaker A.N. Shamseer; Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan; Minister for Sports V. Abdurahiman; MLAs Antony John and Kurukkoli Moideen; Dean Kuriakose, MP; and organisations such as the KSTA, PGTA, DYFI, SFI, and KSU had also sought that any action that impacted the students’ future should be avoided.
However, the teachers who led the illegal disruption at the sports meet had not given anything in writing about their lapse, Mr. Sivankutty said. The General Education Principal Secretary has been tasked with inquiring into the teachers’ lapse in the wake of the findings of the three-member committee that probed the protests. A decision would be taken on the basis of the Principal Secretary’s report.
Published - January 23, 2025 07:10 pm IST
