THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Students and instructors, under the aegis of the Zumba Association, staged a ‘protest zumba’ at the Secretariat on Sunday against the opposition by some Muslim organisations to the introduction of the dance in schools.
During the protest, they also refuted allegations that zumba instructors were not qualified.
General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who visited the protest site, said an elected government was in place to decide what should be included in academic and non-academic sessions.
“We have not appointed anyone to order the system,” he said, adding that the government was open for discussions if anybody had any doubts regarding its move.
The education department, as part of the government’s anti-drug campaign, introduced zumba in schools to reduce students’ stress and as a relaxation activity. However, Muslim organisations like the Wisdom Islamic Organisation and Sunni Yuvajana Sangham, the youth wing of Samastha, opposed this, mainly over the dress code and mingling of boys and girls.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, too, condemned demands to scrap the zumba sessions.