State Govt Circular asking DK Colleges to Keep Tabs on Kerala Students creating Controversy
Mangaluru: As per the news that has appeared in a National English daily (TOI-Mangaluru Edition) , states that a Circular issued by Karnataka government, hours before the recent protests/violence that rocked the Educational Hub-Mangaluru, against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) has landed into controversy. The circular dated 19 December 2019 was issued by the Joint Director, Dept of Collegiate Education, Dakshina Kannada, at the behest of DK Deputy Commissioner Ms Sindhu B Rupesh.
Co-incidentally on that same day, as anti-CAA protests turned violent, as police lathi charged the protesters, and when the mob tried to storm a police station in Bunder, the police opened fire killing two innocent people. It is learnt that the circular was issued after police clamped prohibitory orders in Mangaluru and requested college principals/Heads of Institutions to prevent students from violating the order. Meanwhile, Deputy CM C N Ashwath Narayan, who holds Higher Education portfolio had said that the decision to issue the circular has been taken at the level of officials. They have taken this step as a precautionary measure in the backdrop of the recent developments the City of Mangaluru encountered”.
Sources reveal that DC Sindhu B Rupesh has admitted that the Joint Director of the Dept of Collegiate Education had made a error in drafting the circular and gave the letter a new interpretation. The Officer said the intent of the letter was “to stress on the safety”of the students from Kerala who are in large numbers in the City and not to show the student community in poor light. In the meantime, the Circular had already invited strong criticisms from political parties, netas, students and educationalists, who termed it as “DISCRIMINATORY”, and showed Karnataka in bad light.
Many educationalists and Education Institution management people express apprehensions that admissions from students hailing from Kerala would take a further hit. Among nearly one lakh students in the City, of which 15% to 20% hail from Kerala. MLC Ivan D’souza has also raised a voice on this issue, and has assured to take up the matter during the next legislature session. “Aren’t the students from Kerala the citizens of India? How can such a discriminatory circular be issued?” has asked MLC Ivan.
Clarifying on the Circular DC Sindhu Rupesh has once again said, “The district has thousands of students coming from Kerala, and the Circular wanted to stress on their safety. But unfortunately, the Joint Director failed to put it across in the right manner. The improper choice of words saw the intention being misread. The Circular was never meant to project students from Kerala in bad light and it was just a a general instruction”. But how far DC’s explanation on the Circular will convince the political leaders, students and educationalists, one will have to wait and see in future days.
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