‘No place for caste in class’: After Tirunelveli assault, TN orders strict action against errant teachers

In 2023, classmates from an intermediate caste assaulted two Scheduled Caste children in Nanguneri, Tirunelveli, shocking Tamil Nadu.

The case revealed how caste hostility was festering in schools, a space that should have been safe and neutral.

The incident was not the first of its kind. Over the years, reports have surfaced of children being segregated during midday meals, taunted for their caste backgrounds, or made to sit separately in classrooms.

In some schools, caste identity was openly displayed through colored wristbands, rings, or forehead marks, a practice that reinforced divisions among students.

The assault left not just the children scarred but also exposed how deeply caste prejudices had seeped into classrooms meant to be safe spaces for learning.

The outrage that followed pushed the state government to set up a one-man panel under former Madras High Court Judge K Chandru. His inquiry led to strong recommendations on how schools must respond to caste bias.

This week, the Tamil Nadu School Education Department acted on those suggestions, issuing a circular that demands immediate action against teachers who encourage caste divisions among students.

Chief Education Officers have been asked to probe complaints of caste-based discrimination and, where necessary, transfer teachers to other schools.

“Failure to act against teachers displaying caste affinity or indulging in discriminatory practices would damage the school’s credibility and could create tension on the campus,” the circular warned.

Among the panel’s suggestions now being enforced is a ban on colored wristbands, rings, or forehead marks that signal caste identity.

The government has also been told to drop caste-linked titles from school names.

The order further instructs schools to guard student identity with confidentiality. Details of scholarships provided by the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department or the Most Backward Classes Department should not be made public, and any clarifications must happen in private discussions with the principal.

The circular also restated an existing rule: students are not allowed to use mobile phones in schools. If confiscated, phones are to be returned only to parents.

To ensure students’ voices are heard, grievance boxes placed on campuses are to be checked once a week, with complaints reviewed by the Students Safeguard Advisory Committee. Action-taken reports must be forwarded to the Chief Education Offices without delay.

These measures mirror the recommendations of the Tamil Nadu Fifth Police Commission, which has urged the education department to remain alert to caste-based practices, especially in government and aided schools.

It also stressed that schools at risk of bias must not be dominated by teachers from a single caste background.