Kerala Minister condemns RSS outfit's educational conference

Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Sunday made a scathing attack against a higher education conference being organised by a RSS-linked organisation in Kochi and urged the society to raise strong resistance against the attempts to saffronise the education sector.

General Education Minister V Sivankutty said that the Kerala government strongly condemns attempts to saffronise the education sector under the guise of implementing the National Education Policy.

In connection with the organisation of the conference named 'Gyan Sabha' in Kochi, he said efforts to bring the education sector under the purview of any particular ideology or political agenda are unacceptable under any circumstances.

"Education should be secular and accessible for all. However, it is worrying that some organisations are trying to distort education policies according to their interests," the minister said in a statement.

The news that the vice-chancellors of five universities in the state are participating in an event led by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is "very much worrying", he said.

Stating that universities must be independent and impartial, the minister said using such institutions, that should focus on academic excellence and research, for political interests would have far-reaching consequences.

The Kerala government is committed to protecting the state's public education and higher education sectors, Sivankutty said adding that their objective is to ensure an education system that is in line with the fundamental principles of the Constitution and democratic values.

The minister also wanted the people of the state to take all steps to resist and defeat saffronisation bids and uphold the secular nature of the education sector.

The RSS-linked Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas on Saturday announced it will hold a national education conference, 'Gyan Sabha', here on July 27.

The event would be addressed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

The formal inauguration of the conference will take place on Monday, the organisation had said in a release.