(Web Desk) On the issue of forcing children to wear caste-based wristbands in several schools in Tamil Nadu, the Director of School Education has directed senior officials to identify such schools and take action against them.
According to Indian media reports, the circular was issued following a complaint by IAS officers under training of the 2018 batch. The director said that “all key education officers” have been requested to identify schools where children are being discriminated against.
The report states that in some schools, children are being forced to wear wristbands of different colors, such as red, yellow, green, and cassaria, to identify their caste. In addition, children are also given rings and tilak on their foreheads, making their caste identity even clearer.
An IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre said the matter came up during a discussion at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, where 180 officers raised the issue.
Kather, a social worker of Avendance organization in Madurai, said that such activities are going on in different parts of the state. He said that in some Anganbadis, non-Dalit children are allowed to bring their own utensils from home, which is the beginning of discrimination right from primary education.
Kather added that some children wear pendants with pictures of caste leaders under their uniforms, while some teachers refer to Dalit students as minus and non-Dalit students as plus.
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Kather stressed the need to increase the number of schools for the children of the Dravidian community, and said that the fourth goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure quality education before 2030.
This discrimination is seen in sports team selection, class rescheduling, and even during lunch, which is a serious problem in the education system.
This situation reflects the personal and societal challenges within educational institutions in Tamil Nadu, where caste-based discrimination is negatively impacting not only children’s education but also their lives.
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