Kerala Govt Condemns Shifting Lakshadweep Schools From Malayalam To English Medium

Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty has written a letter to the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, seeking his intervention in the matter.

Lakshadweep Schools' Medium Of Education

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The government of Kerala on Thursday expressed ‘great concern’ over the recent move of the Lakshadweep administration’s move to change the medium of education in schools in the Union territory from Malayalam to the CBSE English medium. Opposing the move from the Lakshadweep administration’s move, Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty has also reached out to the Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan through a letter, seeking his intervention to review and reconsider the matter, PTI reported. 

In his letter, the Kerala education minister reportedly underlined that the move would compromise the educational choices available to students in the Union territory. The directive to make the students study the CBSE syllabus exclusively is a "direct infringement on their fundamental right to education," he wrote in his letter. 

At present, there are 12,140 students studying in 34 schools on the island, the Kerala minister further wrote in his letter. The mix of educational options available to the students of Lakshadweep currently including the Kerala Syllabus in Malayalam and English Medium, as well as the CBSE Syllabus in certain schools has been benefiting students on the island, he said. 

Most children on the island are enrolled in schools that follow the Kerala syllabus, he added. “It is disheartening to note that this directive overlooks the fundamental principle that children's education, especially at the primary level, should consider their socio-cultural background," V Sivankutty was quoted as saying by PTI into the matter.

(With inputs from PTI)