Mydukur, October 28: The government has ordered an inquiry into the incident in which two students of St. Joseph’s School in Mydukur in Kadapa district were punished for speaking Telugu in classroom and placards with the words “I never speak Telugu” were tied to their necks.
Secondary Education Minister D. Manikya Varaprasada Rao told reporters here on Tuesday that the inquiry would be conducted by Deputy Educational Officer of the district and Mandal Revenue Officer and action would be taken after getting the report.
He said the incident amounted to insulting Telugu language. Government’s recognition to the school would be withdrawn if the management was found guilty and if the headmaster or a particular teacher was found responsible, they would be punished.
Mr. Rao said, as directed by Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, the payments due to the self-help groups and others implementing the mid-day meal scheme in the State would be cleared hereafter once in a month.
He would submit a report to the Chief Minister on the implementation of a similar scheme in Tamil Nadu which was found to be superior in some ways, for possible replication in the State.
Kadapa Special Correspondent adds: On the Minister’s instruction, Kadapa Deputy Educational Officer Subba Reddy conducted an inquiry on Tuesday into the punishment meted out to a boy Madhu and girl Sahithi, both eight years old and studying in third standard.
He said he had completed his inquiry and would submit his report to higher authorities.
Meanwhile, the school correspondent Fr. Prabhakar tendered an apology to the parents at a meeting and said the incident occurred in his absence. Stating that he studied M.A. (Telugu) and had affection for the language, he said the school was not averse to teaching it. He assured action against teaching staff members responsible for the incident.
The issue came into focus when parents who came to the school during lunch hour on Tuesday found their children carrying placards and tipped off local scribes. Their offence was that they conversed in their mother tongue in the school. On learning about it, Mydukur Tahsildar Subbarayudu and mandal educational officer Sukhavanam rushed to the school and warned action if such incidents recurred.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party district president O. Srinivasulu Reddy condemned the incident and demanded an inquiry. Students Federation of India activists staged a protest near the school.
-Agencies