Kozhikode: The school protection committee of the Aided Upper Primary School, Malaparamba, prevented the city assistant education officer from implementing the High Court order to close down the school and take back the key and documents from the principal on Monday.
AEO K.S. Kusuman, along with a police force, had reached the school around 10 a.m. and tried to enter the premises to meet the headmistress when the members of the protection forum blocked their way. Following this, there was a minor clash between the police and the agitators.
The court had ordered the AEO to take charge of the school latest by May 23 in the wake of her failure to implement its order passed on March 31. But the AEO left the premises after a three-hour-long stand-off with the committee members, who opposed the management move to close the uneconomic school.
“The High Court had ordered to complete the closure procedures as soon as possible,” said the AEO. Since the protestors blocked me, I will report the matter to the higher authorities,” she added. It was reported that the school officials had started the procedures for admitting students to the school.
“Since the school is under uneconomical category, the manager of the school has the right to close it down with prior intimation to the educational officer as per clause number 72 of Kerala Education Act,” she added. Kozhikode North assistant commissioner K. Ashraf said that a chaotic situation had prevailed on the school for more than two hours.
Hasty decision to close down school
Hundreds of members representing different political parties and the local people around Malapparamba raised slogans against the education department and police officials for taking a hasty decision on the closure of the Aided Upper Primary School. The indefinite strike staged by the school protection committee had entered the 41st day when the education department with the support of the police tried to take over the institution.
Mr Pradeep Kumar, MLA, who is also the patron of the school protection committee, said, “the police took a hasty decision to demolish the school before the new government takes charge.” They could have waited till that time and given a report in the High Court citing the people’s protest, he said. “Through struggle, the committee could raise a new building for the school after the manager demolished it and we are still having a debt of '9 lakh in this regard,” he added.
Regarding the protection of the over 140-year-old school, the court had ruled in favour of the manager who had sought permission to close it down in spite of several protests. “After a series of protests following the razing down and reconstruction of the school, now the property has fallen into the manager’s kitty, where he is eligible to sell or run the school,” said Mr M. Jaideep, convenor of the school protection committee.
A High Court Division Bench had dismissed the appeal filed by the committee against an order to close down the school. On January 18, manager P.K. Padmarajan had obtained an order from the High Court to close it by March 31. Challenging the order, the committee had approached the Division Bench.
However, this appeal was dismissed. “After that incident we kickstarted the indefinite strike and it was after 41 days that the government officials approached the school for compulsory closure against which we have protested,” he added.
