The football craze among the people in the Malappuram district of North Kerala has now spilled over to the answer sheets of some primary-class students.
To a question to prepare a biography of the legendary Argentinian player Lionel Messi from the given facts in the class four Malayalam annual exam, a student wrote in the answer sheet that she won't write the answer as she was a Brazil fan and likes Neymar.
A student of another school wrote Messi's biography but mentioned that he likes Neymar.
Some teachers who came across these answers took photos and shared them in private groups of teachers. But the pictures went viral on social media inviting criticisms for ridiculing the children.
Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty has ordered an inquiry.
The District Education Officer of Malappuram visited the schools on Monday and took statements from the teachers concerned.
It was a girl student of the Sastha ALP School, Puduppalli near Tirur who refused to write about Messi. "I won't write. I am a Brazil fan. I like Neymar. I don't like Messi," she wrote on the answer sheet in Malayalam.
A student of the AUP School at Thannikadavu in Nilambur mentioned in the answer sheet that he was a Neymar fan even as he wrote Messi's biography.
Speaking to DH on the condition of anonymity, a teacher of one of the schools said that a teacher who came across the "funny reply" took the picture and shared it with a group of school teachers. "Unfortunately it was leaked to social media and the student's identity was revealed. Subsequently, unnecessary discussions on social media with many criticising the child made things go from bad to worse," he said.
North Kerala's football craze even received international attention during the recent World Cup.
FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) posted viral pictures of the giant cutouts of Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo on a river bank on the Malappuram-Kozhikode border. Celebrations over Argentina's victory had even led to clashes between fans in many parts of the state.
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