BENGALURU: Primary and Secondary Education Minister N Mahesh on Saturday courted controversy by comparing private school teachers to ‘nuns’. Mahesh, who was making a point about how strict discipline, in his opinion, kills creativity, went on to compare students of such schools to ‘parrots’.
Praising government schools, Mahesh said teachers there are “more intelligent than private school teachers.” After talking about teachers, the minister then shifted his attention to children, comparing those in government school to ‘eagles’.
He was talking at an event organised by the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) in the city to honour the ‘Ambassadors’ of old students associations at government schools. According to Mahesh, private school teachers act like nuns as they are very disciplined and serious.
“If you visit any private school in the state after 10 am, there will be pin-drop silence and kids will be waiting for the day to get over and fly like free birds. As the teachers at private schools are like nuns, serious and more disciplined, kids will also be serious and seriousness kills creativity,” Mahesh said.
Comparing government and private school teachers, the minister said, “100% of our government school teachers are more intelligent than teachers at private schools. The only problem is of co-ordination between teachers and students which is not happening and if that happens, our government school kids will overtake private school kids,” the minister said.
The minister then likened private school children to parrots and government school kids to eagles. “Private school kids will become parrots and government school kids eagles. Parrots just do what they are asked to do. But government school kids fight for their rights by discussing and fighting with teachers. According to me, those who are naughty in the classroom are intelligent and not the ones who just listen to everything in the class,” he said.
According to the minister, those who studied at private schools will not pay back to society and they will only look for job opportunities abroad. “Our government school kids will remain in the state, even if they become a teacher, constable or driver. They will give back to the society by staying here,” he added.
private schools condemn comment
The statements by the minister were condemned by private school managements. The managements even demanded the minister’s resignation for what they termed as “irresponsible” statements and for violating rights of the children by discriminating between government and private school kids. D Shashi Kumar, General Secretary of the Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka said, “How can the minister give such immature and irresponsible statements? e demand that the minister step down.”