CHENNAI: Around 30 members of Irular tribal families and some social activists from Sriperumbudur staged a day-long protest demanding action against a government school principal, who allegedly spoke in a derogatory manner with an Irular couple, who had approached her for getting transfer certificate for their girl child studying in the school.
The Kancheepuram district police detained the protesters in a local marriage hall and were released at 8.45pm.
Ragini and Suresh, the couple, had approached Gnanaselva Jothi, the principal of Sriperumbudur Government Girls Higher Secondary School’s principal Gnanaselva Jothi, for the certificate.
The family, which lives in an Irular resettlement site in Katrambakkam village, wanted to admit their daughter to a school which was nearer as the current one was 10-15 km away.
Alleging that the principal had used foul, discriminatory and casteist language, the couple had filed a complaint with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe (NCST), the district police and the Chief Educational Officer (CEO).
The principal reportedly refused to give the TC in the beginning, but later relented after the intervention of the CEO and the district educational officer (DEO) who were approached by the Sriperumbudur Irular Nala Sangam and activists from the NGO Aran.
Both the CEO and the Sriperumbudur police station confirmed receipt of the complaint while speaking to TNIE on Thursday night, but denied the use of foul language by the principal.
“She had spoken angrily against the parents regarding which we will take action,” the CEO said, adding they had enquired with other teachers as well. A report has been submitted by the DEO to the CEO late on Friday.