india

Updated: Aug 15, 2019 09:27 IST

Concerned over reports of some schools enforcing caste-based wristbands on students, the Tamil Nadu directorate of school education issued a directive proscribing the practice and requiring education authorities to monitor the same take punitive action for any violation.

In a notification dated July 31, director of school education S Kannappan, has ordered chief educational officers of every district to take stringent action against schools where the practice of students wearing wristbands are enforced to differentiate them according to their caste.This followed a representation to the government from officer trainees of IAS of the 2018 batch.

“It is informed that the officer trainees of IAS 2018 batch lodged a representation to the government where it has been stated that in some schools in Tamil Nadu, the students were made to wear colour coded wrist bands. These bands come in shades of red, yellow, green and saffron to indicate whether they belong to a ‘lower caste’ or ‘upper caste’. In addition to this, rings and forehead ‘tilak’ on the head were also used as a caste marker. These practices are supposedly being used for sports team selection, reassembling during class and lunch intervals. Allegedly, these practices are enforced by students themselves and supported by influential caste persons and teachers,” the directive read.

“All educational officers are requested to take appropriate steps to identify such schools in their districts where such kind of discrimination is practised and to issue suitable instructions to the headmasters to prevent such practice,” it added.