Kerala’s LDF Govt out to appease Muslims

The LDF Cabinet in Kerala on Tuesday decided to accord NOCs (No-Objection Certificates) to 42 unaided private schools in the State, most of which were being managed by the Sunni Muslim sect led by Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliar, an ally of the CPI(M).

Announcing the Cabinet’s decision here, Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan told newsmen that these schools were in the Malabar area, known for its heavy Muslim population.

Students’ outfits and teachers’ organizations criticized the decision saying it would further damage the public education sector. They alleged that the public education sector was already in a shambles due to lack of sufficient number of students in Government and aided schools and that the new decision would further complicate the situation.

Achuthanandan said that the decision was taken to solve the problem of educational backwardness of the Muslims in the Malabar region but critics pointed out that the move was to keep the Kanthapuram Sunni sect, which presently was not as warm as it used to be in the past to the CPI(M), in pleasant mood.

AISF, the students; wing of LDF partner CPI, said that it would launch agitation against the decision of the Government as approval for more schools in unaided sector would lead to huge problems in the public education field. CPI(M)’s own students’ wing, the SFI, informed that they too would have to resort to stirs if the Government did not revoke the decision.

The CPI(M), which had enjoyed wide support of the Muslims in the Assembly elections in 2006, is now standing almost fully isolated from the minority community and the effect of this had reflected in the huge setback the LDF had suffered in the last Lok Sabha election and recent civic polls.

The only major Muslim sect that still supports the CPI(M) is perhaps the Kanthapuram Sunni sect but there were reports recently that they too were thinking of distancing itself from the Left. It was in this context the LDF Cabinet decided to accord NOCs to 42 unaided schools in Malabar region.

The Cabinet on Tuesday also decided to start two centres for imparting training for preparing for civil service examinations to candidates from the Muslim and other backward communities on the basis of the Sachar Committee report.

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