Thiruvananthapuram: The schools can no longer insist on students to speak only a particular language on the campus. The principals who do so will have to pay a fine of Rs 5,000. The state government has issued an order under Malayalam Language Learning Act against using signboards, regulations or propaganda for promoting one spoken language in schools. The order also prohibits punishment for speaking in Malayalam in schools across the state.
An officer not below the rank of deputy director of education will be authorized by the government to collect the fine from the principal. The headmasters can submit their appeals to the DPI within 30 days.
The order has also provisions for cancelling the NoC of schools refusing to teach Malayalam.
Though the order was applicable to all schools in the state, it would not be compulsory for students from other states and foreigners.
An inspection will be conducted at the beginning of every academic year in all schools to check if Malayalam is included in the syllabus. The inspection will be carried out by a team comprising district education officers and representatives of Malayalam teachers of government and aided schools. The amount will be deducted from their salary or collected like the outstanding amount of land tax. If an unaided school fails to follow the instruction three times, the government will have the power to cancel the recognition given to it. The government can also cancel the NoC given to CBSE and ICSE schools.
The State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) will prepare special books for imparting Malayalam training in CBSE and ICSE schools.
If students study other languages instead of Malayalam, they have to learn Malayalam as an additional subject. The SCERT will issue special textbook for the students and examinations will be conducted for this subject. However, marks will not be added to the total.
