Kerala: With Muslim outfits opposing proposed new school timings, LDF may backtrack yet again

“Any change in school timings will affect religious studies in the madrasas,” says IUML’s state General Secretary PMA Salam.

“Our party shares the feeling of Muslim organisations,” Salam told South First.

The Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, the largest Muslim organisation in the state — popularly known as Samastha — has voiced its opposition to the new timings; it is this group that the IUML is now backing.

The development comes hardly a month after Kerala’s Left Democratic Front (LDF) government backtracked from moves to leave Waqf Board appointments to the state’s Public Service Commission, and to introduce a gender-neutral uniform system in all schools across the state, fearing a Muslim backlash.

New recommendations

The new school timings were one of several recommendations on school education that a three-member expert committee submitted to the state government on 22 September.

The committee, led by noted educationist MA Khader, was set up by the government to examine various subject aspects of school education against the backdrop of the Right to Education Act.

The committee recommended school timing be changed to 8 am-1 pm, as it was the “best time to learn”. It also said the afternoon hours should be devoted to sports and arts.

It has also recommended a five-year integrated postgraduate course that comprises a teaching qualification and specialisation course. The committee said that such a course could equip teachers to face the challenges of a fast-changing learning atmosphere.

It also suggested a total overhaul of teachers’ training in the state.

On receiving the report, Education Minister V Sivankutty said the government was keen on changing the school time as recommended by the committee.

IUML’s views

This has pitched the IUML in direct confrontation with the government, with Salam accusing it of hurriedly announcing radical changes without exploring the possible practical difficulties, or without prior discussions with the Opposition and religious groups.

Pointing out that madrasas in Kerala operate between 7.30 am and 9.30 am, he said any change in school timings will affect religious education.

“In the absence of religious studies, moral values will be affected,” Salam contended. “The government should not make any change in a hurry.”

Three climbdowns

The government announced three decisions in the last few months that many considered progressive and necessary, but which it withdrew or shelved because of opposition from Muslim organisations.

First, it decided to to hand over State Wakf Board appointments to the Public Service Commission (PSC) but climbed down in the face of opposition from the Samastha.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government would discuss the question of handing over Wakf Board recruitments to the PSC and that, until then, “status quo would be maintained on recruitment”.

Vijayan went on to point out that it was the Wakf Board itself which took a decision to hand over appointments to the PSC. “It was not a decision of the state government,” he said.

Students in gender-neutral uniform at Valayanchirangara school. (Syed Shiyaz Mirza/South First)

Second. just last month the LDF announced the “progressive” move to convert all government-run and aided schools in the state into co-educational institutions with gender-neutral uniforms.

But the move has been quietly shelved after prominent Muslim organisations equated it with homosexuality and claimed they would resist it tooth and nail.

The LDF backtracked as well on the appointment of controversial IAS officer Sreeram Venkitaraman as district magistrate of Alappuzha after community leaders objected.

Venkataraman faces charges in the killing of journalist KM Basheer in a sensational hit-and-run case.

The Siraj newspaper in which Basheer worked belongs to a Muslim religious outfit, and its members staged mega protest marches against Venkataraman’s appointment, forcing the government to relent.

And now a fourth?

Many in government feel that it will have to backtrack on the issue of Kerala schools timings as well.

According to one government source, the government should discuss such recommendations with religious organisations, people’s representatives, and political parties before considering their implementation.

After the gender-neutral uniforms elicited angry responses from the community, Education Minister Sivankutty declared that the government had no plans to introduce such uniforms in schools.

Earlier, he had said he believed that it was the responsibility of the state government to create gender awareness and gender equality among students.

The government earlier wanted to hand over Wakf Board appointments to the PSC, citing corruption and nepotism in the recruitment system. It is now keeping mum on the issue.