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Many students keep off exams in Gujarat

By Our Special Correspondent

Students belonging to both Hindu and Muslim communities writing their examinations in Ahmedabad on Thursday. — Photo: Paras Shah

GANDHINAGAR APRIL 18. The second phase of the secondary and higher secondary examinations in Gujarat began peacefully today, with a majority of the minority students abstaining for security reasons.

While leaders belonging to the minority community claimed that about 70 to 80 per cent of the Muslim students did not appear for the examinations, the State Government said that it had not kept a count of students on community basis but admitted that the overall presence this time at 93.24 per cent was about four per cent less than the normal average of 98 per cent appearance. In the first phase of the examinations last month, students' attendance was more than 98 per cent.

M. H. Johar, convener of the minority steering committee, which had given a call to the Muslim students to boycott the examinations, claimed that in some of the localities, not a single student of the minority community turned up for the examinations. In many other centres, students boarded the buses organised by the Government for security reasons but disembarked because there was no one else. In localities such as Juhapura, Dani Limda and several others, they returned almost totally empty.

In Shah Alam, which was visited by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, when he was in the city earlier this month, the response was better. Most of the students in these areas did appear for the examinations but Mr. Johar claimed it was because the Government had agreed to provide an examination centre to them in nearby areas. The students were not opposed to appearing in the examinations but their parents were scared to send them to the examination centres located in the Hindu-dominated localities, Mr. Johar and other minority leaders said they were still approaching the Government for change of centres. If the Government accepted the demand, the minority students would start appearing for the examinations from tomorrow. Otherwise, Muslims would approach the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission for the rights of minority students to appear in the examinations.

The Education Minister, Anandiben Patel, had earlier ruled out any further changes in the centres. Nor would centres be set up exclusively for one community

Ms. Patel claimed that most of the minority students did appear in the examinations and the boycott call had been given only by those who had nothing to do with the examinations. Outside Ahmedabad, the presence of minority students was almost total. She maintained that the parents of Muslim students had no reason to feel insecure because the Government had made foolproof security arrangements.

The Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, effected yet another administrative change in the district levels ordering the transfer of orders to 30 officials belonging to the Gujarat Administrative Service (GAS) cadre.

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