The controversy over the circular sent by the Director of School Education instructing schools to disallow students wearing coloured wrist bands according to their caste refuses to die down. In the latest, Minister for School Education K.A. Sengottaiyan on Friday said that steps would be taken if any complaints were received about the use of coloured threads to represent caste in schools.
Mr. Sengottaiyan’s comments came a day after he reportedly said that he was not aware of such a circular. He told reporters in Erode district that the circular to Chief Education Officers was forwarded without consulting him.
Mr. Sengottaiyan said: “The existing practices in schools will continue. Currently, we haven’t received any complaints regarding such practices in schools. Necessary action will be taken if complaints are received in this regard.”
The Minister said the State government was functioning with this ideal and added that discrimination would not be tolerated be it in educational institutions or anywhere else. While BJP’s National Secretary H. Raja opposed the move to ban coloured wrist bands under the pretext that it was an attack on Hindu customs, Shyam Krishnasamy, youth wing leader of Puthiya Tamilagam said the party leader had flagged this issue to the Education Secretary in 2015 since there were social problems.