TIRUNELVELI: A government-aided girls higher secondary school in VK Puram near Ambasamudram has come under fire for screening Tamil films. Allegations have also surfaced that the students were forced to pay for the screenings.
The school, which has around 1,700 students from classes 1 to 12, reportedly showed Vijay's film ‘GOAT’ on a TV to students of higher classes on Saturday afternoon. For primary students (classes 1 to 5), Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Vettaiyan’ was reportedly screened.
A total of 600 students watched the movies, with Rs 25 allegedly collected from each student for ‘GOAT’ and Rs 10 for ‘Vettaiyan’.
The incident sparked controversy, as complaints arose over students being made to pay for the screenings. Some functionaries from the Hindu Munnani expressed objections after the information leaked, questioning if the school had obtained permission to screen recent films. They accused the administration of misusing school hours for profit and voiced their concerns on social media.
In response, Chief Educational Officer (CEO) Sivakumar ordered an investigation and directed education officials to visit the school. According to the CEO, the school principal claimed that the screenings were to reduce stress among students. However, CEO Sivakumar instructed that the money collected from the students be refunded.