THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The general education department has suspended the teacher who prepared the controversial question about Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar for a quiz competition organised for lower primary students at a school in Kasaragod district.
Guru Prasad, a teacher with AUPS, Pallathadukka, who was found to have prepared the question, was on Sunday suspended with immediate effect by the director of general education (DGE) as part of the investigation.
According to the report submitted by Kasargod deputy director of education (DDE), Guru Prasad led the team of teachers who prepared the questions.
The report also recommended strict action against the other teachers involved. The DGE has also directed the DDE to instruct the school manager to initiate department-level action against the suspended teacher.
Organised as part of ‘Freedom Quiz’, an event held in schools falling under Kumbala and Manjeshwar education districts, the question read: “Which freedom fighter got the most punishment from the Britishers?” To that, the students were expected to write Savarkar’s name as the answer.
The question had triggered a row on Saturday, with key figures including Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan and SFI state secretary P S Sanjeev vehemently criticising the government for allegedly succumbing to the ‘Sangh Parivar agenda’. Muslim League leader M K Muneer also stepped forward on the issue, urging a thorough probe.