Schools told to be lenient with religious beliefs

Pandiarajan was speaking at the inaugural event of a newly designed training program for teachers on imparting value integrated lessons for students.  “There is nothing wrong in wearing a rosary around the neck or smearing holy ash on the forehead. Everyone is equal,” he said. 

Pointing out that he had received complaints that certain schools were mentally taxing students by fining them for following their respective religious beliefs, the Minister said that schools on an attempt to maintain uniformity have fined or scolded students for wearing mehndi or applying holy ash “But everyone is equal and students should not be punished on such grounds as they have rights too,” he said.   

Later, he inaugurated the new training for teachers titled as Value Integrated Teaching and Learning (VITAL) which would cater to teachers handling classes 6, 7 and 8. The teachers in Government and Government Aided High and Higher Secondary Schools in the State will focus on instilling values for students crucial for life. 

Around 60 values have been identified which will be integrated with concepts and taught in classrooms once a week, he said. This training is expected to benefit 15,000 teachers working in 6,700 Schools.