Pseudoscience event row: Will not spare speaker who insulted my teachers, says TN Edu Minister

CHENNAI: In the eye of the storm over the issue of ‘allowing’ a spiritual orator to propagate pseudoscience and irrationalism among government students, State School Education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Friday assured that action would be initiated against ‘whoever’ was responsible for the regressive event in three days.

Engaging media persons at the same Ashok Nagar government school, the minister brought a visually challenged Tamil teacher to his media briefing and said, “Whoever is responsible for the mistake, whether they do it knowingly or unknowingly, it impacts the students. This is also one such incident. Within 3-4 days, due action will be taken against whoever is responsible for the event.”

Asked if the School Management Committee (SMC) was responsible for organising the event, he said, “Written replies would be obtained on whether it happened due to the SMC or the principal or after it was brought to the knowledge of our higher officials in 2-3 days.”

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Showering praise on the visually-challenged Tamil teacher Sankar who questioned and attempted to stop the regressive speaker, the minister explained, “Sankar is a role model of a teacher. He demonstrated that questions must be raised using his education. Hence, we brought him here. I asked him about the incident. Sankar wants to forgive and forget, which shows his magnanimity. It is up to him to personally prefer or not prefer a complaint. As far as we are concerned, based on the video evidence, we’ll initiate appropriate action against Mahavishnu because he insulted my teachers. I would like to categorically state that I will not spare him.”

There are photographs of Mahavishnu rubbing shoulders with him that went viral on social media. Dismissing the concerns, he pointed out: “Every day hundreds of people meet us and take photographs. It’s wrong to say we permitted him based on the photos. The Dravidian model government does not compromise on ideology whatsoever.

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However, Poyyamozhi reiterated that there was nothing wrong in bringing motivational speakers as long as there was a rigorous vetting process. “Schools must verify the speaker’s background and the kind of speeches they have delivered in the past before inviting them. In this case, it was a mistake on the school management’s part. But who is fundamentally responsible, who gave them the courage to pursue it, and gave permission – these things matter. Whoever it is, they will be punished.”

Meanwhile, the Director of School Education S Kannappan has issued a directive prohibiting outsiders from conducting any programmes in government schools. He has advised against allowing private programmes in government schools, emphasising that no outside entities should conduct any events or discussions. “Not abiding by this order could lead to suspension of both the headmaster and the district principal education officer,” Kannappan warned.