THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ‘Praveshanotsavam’ programme to welcome newcomers into the world of letters at a government school in Thiruvananthpuram has courted controversy following the participation of a Pocso case-accused vlogger as a guest at the event on Monday. Following complaints from parents, General Education Minister V Sivankutty ordered an inquiry into the incident.
The minister directed the deputy director of education, Thiruvananthapuram, to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.
The incident came as a major embarrassment to the government that had recently taken stern action against Pocso-accused teaching and non-teaching staff and even removed a few of them from service.
Vlogger Mukesh M Nair was roped in as one of the guests of the event held at Fort High School, West Fort.
He was reportedly invited by a non-profit organisation that provides materials to school students during school reopening. After the episode raised eyebrows, the school authorities said they had nothing to do with the vlogger’s participation in the event.
The school headmaster said the institution had not printed any notice with the name or the photograph of the Pocso accused as part of event promotion. The non-profit organisation has also reportedly distanced itself from the episode saying they were not aware of the vlogger’s background.
Last month, the Kovalam police had registered a case against the vlogger under the Pocso Act. He was accused of coercing a minor girl to appear in inappropriate social media content without proper consent.