Date:08/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/08/stories/2009010858240200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Students express ‘colourful’ support for ‘samacheer kalvi’

Staff Reporter

With nimble fingers and exciting strokes, they hold aloft the system

— Photo: M.Karunkaran

Rallying for a cause: Students raise slogans supporting equitable standard education at a demonstration organised near Memorial Hall in Chennai on Wednesday.

CHENNAI: Over 450 students from four matriculation and state-board schools, through their nimble strokes, expressed their support for equitable standard education (ESE) at Memorial Hall here on Wednesday.

With colour-stained fingers and school bags slung over their shoulders, the students held placards with messages such as ‘Introduce common school system to unite the student community’ and ‘ESE makes education affordable,’ as they joined a string of painters to protest against the existing system.

Artists ‘Sirpi’ Dakshinamoorthy, ‘Sigaram’ S. Senthilnathan and Muthusamy from Koothu-p-pattarai made deft strokes on six canvases spread across 10 metres. Principal of the Government College of Fine Arts G. Chandrasekaran pencilled in the first painting.

The children expressed their ideas through paintings on the canvas, in support of the common school system. “ESE figures prominently on the election manifestos of most parties, but so far, nothing has been done about it. The State government had formed a committee to look into the options but the recommendations have not been submitted yet,” complained P. B. Prince Gajendra Babu, Convenor of State Platform for Common School System.

He slammed the book publishers and uniform manufacturers for pressurising the government against introducing ESE and expressed hope that the State government would take cue from other states to do away with multiple school system.

The existing system paved way for social and economical discrimination, he said.

A set of demands, including immediate steps to implement ‘samacheer kalvi’ from academic year 2009, announcement of common school system as a policy decision in the Governor’s address, and making necessary budgetary allocation for its implementation, were submitted last month to the Chief Minister. Another would be sent shortly. Three art troupes – Chennai Kalai Kuzhu, Chennai Agni Kalai Kuzhu and Moontram Arangu – staged a street play on ‘samacheer kalvi.’