Kannada school teacher in Kasargod can't speak language

Students of a government school at Moodambail in Kasargod district, along with their parent and local people, are on a stir over the last few days alleging that a teacher appointed to the Kannada medium school does not know even the basics of the language.

Students and the local residents have also levelled charges of malpractice in the Kannada language test.

A Thiruvananthapuram native, who was recruited by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC), was appointed as the physical exercise teacher at the Moodambail government high school, close to the Karnataka border.

Following suspicion that the teacher had no knowledge of Kannada, the school authorities and local body representatives tested his Kannada skills by asking him to conduct a mock class.

Kasargod district panchayat member Ali Harshad Vorkady told DH that the teacher communicated with students only in Malayalam as he did not know Kannada. As many as 14 such teachers appointed by the PSC to the Kannada medium schools in the recent past were found to have no knowledge of Kannada. Hence, it was strongly suspected that there were manipulations in the PSC’s Kannada skill tests.

Ali said some of the teachers had taken long leave immediately after joining and had gone to learn Kannada.

The students, their parents and local people waylaid the teacher when he came to join last week. They shouted slogans in Kannada and raised placards against the teachers.

Representations were submitted to the government, urging it to cancel the appointment and ensure that only those with Kannada knowledge were appointed to the school.