KOZHIKODE: Taking pride in its renaissance traditions, Kerala claims it had eradicated the practice of ‘untouchability’ long ago. But a government school in Kozhikode had to wait for 63 years to get rid of the ‘SC students only’ tag, as parents belonging to other communities refused to send their wards to the school due to the ‘fear of mixing up’. Three years after ending the ‘apartheid’, the school produced its first Lower Secondary Scholarship (LSS) winner this year, a common fete for normal schools.
The Government Welfare LP School in Perambra was established in 1956. Though the school was well-equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, only students from the Scheduled Caste Sambava (Paraya) community enrolled here. No student from other communities took admission as their parents didn’t want their kids to sit side-by-side with Scheduled Castes children. In 2019, members of Kerala School Teachers’ Movement (KSTM) deliberately sent their wards to the school to end the ‘apartheid’.
KSTM is a newly formed organization which enjoys the backing of Welfare Party of India. The students came from 15-km far off Kavunthara and shared benches with the SC kids. And within three years, Yaseen Sajid, a fourth standard student, bagged the LSS scholarship.
‘We will surely produce more winners this yr’
“It is true that it took 66 years to get an LSS winner. But things are fast changing now. Last year, three students had attended the LSS examination and one among them made it. Another girl from Sambava community — Parvathy — was just five marks short of clearing and we have applied for a revaluation. This year, we will definitely produce more winners,” says school headmistress Vilasini E.
Sajid K V, father of Yaseen Sajid, says, “there was no dearth of facilities or teachers in the school. But we have to purposefully enrol students from other communities. Mixing of students will benefit the school as well as the academic improvement of the Sambava students. Sajid’s younger son also studies in the same school.
The other communities’ school boycott had resulted in Perambra grama panchayat taking measures in bettering the facilities at the neighbouring Sambava colony, from where the SC children come.
The headmistress said the school had 21 students from class 1 to 4 in the academic year that ended in March 2022. Among them, nine were Muslims who joined under the initiative of KSTM. The rest were from Sambava community.
‘SC students only’ tag
■ Govt Welfare LP School in Perambra was established in 1956
■ Only students from the SC Sambava (Paraya) community used to get enrolled here
■ In 2019, members of Kerala School Teachers’ Movement deliberately sent their wards to the school to end the ‘apartheid’