THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A government-aided school here has courted controversy after it denied admission to a child allegedly on the grounds that its parents refused to fill the ‘religion’ column in the admission form.
The couple -- Naseem and Dhanya -- was told by authorities of St Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Pattom, that they need to fill the ‘religion’ column in the admission application form. The couple chose to leave the column vacant. St Mary’s HSS, touted as the biggest school in Asia in terms of student enrolment, is managed by the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and aided by the state government. When the couple questioned the action by school authorities, head of the Lower Primary Section at the school consulted the management insisted on the couple submitting an affidavit stating the reason for not disclosing it, said Naseem.
Though the parents pointed out the government’s clarification that admission can be obtained in schools without recording the religion of the child in the admission form, the school insisted on the affidavit from them.
After public outcry, the school reportedly decided to admit the child. However, Naseem and Dhanya decided not to admit their child there.
Govt orders inquiry
General Education Minster C Raveendranath has directed Deputy Director of Education (DDE), Thiruvananthapuram, to inquire into the matter and submit a report to the
government at the earliest.
The government will take further action on the basis of the DDE’s report, the minister said.
‘Needless controversy’
The spokesperson of Thiruvananthapuram Major Archdiocese of the Syro-Malanakara Church termed the episode a ‘needless controversy”. Fr Bovas Mathew said parents are free not to state the religion of their child. However, many benefits provided by the government for children in schools are on the basis of religion and caste. The school had merely insisted on a document stating that parents will undertake the responsibility if the child loses out on any such benefits in the future. The Church spokesperson said the school had never denied admission to the child nor behaved in a provocative manner towards parents.