Committee Recommends Removal Of Caste Names From School, No Caste In Attendance...(Photo Facebook Srinivasan Giridharan)
In 2023, the Tamil Nadu government constituted a one-man committee to study and frame recommendations to prevent violence based on caste and community among college and school students. The committee headed by retired High Court judge K Chandru, on June 18, submitted its report to the Tamil Nadu Government. The committee made several recommendations meant to dismantle caste inequality in educational institutions. The committee was formed following an attack on a Dalit student allegedly for excelling in his studies.
The measures submitted by the committee included the removal of caste prefixes from the names of schools. The committee also recommended removing any caste prefix or suffix associated with government schools that indicate either the donor or their family. It also asked to stop using coloured wristbands and other caste markers by the students in schools.
The committee also recommended reservation in science courses of higher secondary classes for Scheduled Caste (SC) students. It also suggested the formation of the Social Justice Students Force (SJSF) with students from all communities to combat social evils, adding that an expert body or an agency be formed to investigate allegations of saffronisation of education. It also cautioned against activities that infiltrate educational institutions, troubling caste and communal harmony.
Read also: Two CMs Were Arrested. Tribal CM still in Jail: Rahul Gandhi On Hemant Soren And Caste
The committee further recommended a common code of conduct for teachers and staff of all schools, colleges and universities run by the State. The committee asked all the teachers and staff to undergo a compulsory orientation programme on social issues, caste discrimination, and the different laws pertaining to sexual violence, sexual harassment, drugs, ragging, and offences against Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) before the start of every academic year.
To uproot the caste-related issues in classrooms, the committee suggested not to include any column or details relating to their caste in the attendance register of the students while asking teachers not to directly or indirectly refer to the caste or make any derogatory remarks about a student’s caste. It further recommended disciplinary action in case of violations.
Read also: The Print Warns To Report Trolling Against Its Journalist For Her Article On ‘Upper-caste Men’
The recommendation also included setting up a counsellor and making a new post for a school welfare officer for each secondary school with more than 500 students. The officer will be tasked with monitoring the functioning of the school regarding issues of ragging, drug menace, sexual assault and offences related to caste discrimination and should address these issues in accordance with the law. The school welfare officer will also be empowered to file a complaint before the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), and can demand action against school management, teachers and other staffers in case of caste discrimination and other unfair practices, the recommendation added.
