Some 15-20% of Dakshina Kannada’s nearly 1 lakh college students are from Kerala.

MANGALURU: A circular issued by the Karnataka government — hours before protests rocked Mangaluru against the controversial citizenship law last week — asking colleges in Dakshina Kannada district to keep tabs on students from Kerala has kicked up a storm.

The December 19 circular was issued by the joint director, department of collegiate education, Dakshina Kannada, at the behest of the deputy commissioner. Later that day, as anti-CAA protests turned violent and a mob allegedly tried to attack a police station, cops opened fire, killing two protesters.

Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said the joint director of the department of collegiate education made a mistake in drafting the circular, but said the intent was “to stress on the safety” of students from Kerala.

Deputy CM CN Ashwath Narayan, who also holds the higher education portfolio, said, “The decision to issue the circular has been taken at the level of officials. They have taken this step as a precautionary measure in the backdrop of the recent developments Mangaluru witnessed.”

But the circular invited sharp criticism from political parties, students and educationists, who called it “discriminatory” and one that showed Karnataka in bad light. Mangaluru — long considered Karnataka’s education hub — has a sizeable chunk of students from Kerala pursuing professional courses. Educationists expressed apprehensions that admissions from Kerala in the city, which is already portrayed as a communally-sensitive district, would take a further hit.

There are roughly one lakh students in this coastal district of whom about 15% to 20% are from Kerala. Congress MLC Ivan D’Souza termed the circular shocking and shameful.

“This is sheer discrimination against students of another state who have secured admissions based on merit. This is for the first time in Dakshina Kannada that such a circular has been issued,” he said, adding this shows the BJP government in Karnataka was “directly involved” in suppressing the public voice and peaceful protests against CAA and NRC.

“I’ll raise the issue in the next legislature session. The students from Kerala are citizens of India. How can such a discriminatory circular be issued? Why suppress the rights of students who want to protest,’’ he asked.

District minister Kota Srinivas Poojari said it would not be fair to comment on the circular without seeing it. The chairperson of a Mangaluru education institution, which has about 30% of student population from Kerala, criticised the order, saying it could affect future admissions besides sowing seeds of fears in the minds of parents. “The city has a negative image due to the violence. We will lose admissions, resulting in a blow to the state economy,” he said.

