Teachers Absolved in Kasaragod Palestine Mime Controversy; Minister Assures Students Re-performance
Kasaragod: The District Deputy Director of Education (DDE) has submitted a preliminary report absolving teachers of any wrongdoing in the incident where a Palestine solidarity mime show was obstructed at Kumbla Government Higher Secondary School. Concurrently, Education Minister V. Sivankutty has assured that the students will be granted the opportunity to perform the mime on the same stage where it was previously interrupted.
The report, presented to the Director of Public Education, indicates that the suspension of the arts festival was a consequence of issues that arose among students during the event. It suggests that there was no deliberate intervention on the part of the teachers.
Minister V. Sivankutty had previously ordered a comprehensive investigation into the matter and the submission of a detailed report. Speaking to News18, the Minister questioned the authority behind stopping the mime performance and reiterated his commitment to providing the students with a chance to re-stage their act on the original platform.
Irshad, one of the Plus Two students who participated in the mime, recounted the incident: “Teachers dropped the curtain two and a half minutes into our performance. They were fully aware that the mime show was based on the Palestine theme. We are still unsure why the performance was halted despite this knowledge. We are, however, extremely pleased that an opportunity has been made available for us to perform the competition on the same stage in the near future.”
The arts festival, held at the school last Friday, culminated in disorder and a lathi-charge. The event, originally scheduled for two days, had to be called off on the very first day. A Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting, convened in the morning to restore normalcy to the school environment and facilitate the completion of the arts festival, was disrupted by the intrusion of MSF activists.