Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], November 26 : Thiruvananthapuram District Collector Anu Kumari on Wednesday said that participation from student groups would be purely voluntary and that no one would be compelled to join the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Kerala.
Reacting to Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty's instructions to education department officials to ensure that students' learning is not disrupted following official letters from Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) requesting the deployment of student volunteers for the SIR of the electoral roll, Thiruvananthapuram District Collector said that they had taken note of it and students who have exams can avoid it.
She further said that the Education Minister had informed her that the studies of students should not be affected.
"The Education Minister had given me a call, and he was saying that children are going to have exams in next week. Since they have exams, their study should not be impacted. We have taken note of that. Most of our volunteers are college students. It is mostly first-year students who have come forward, as 2nd and 3rd year students have exams. It is a voluntary activity. Students who have time available are welcome. School students who have exams can avoid it. Going door to door is the work of BLOs. Volunteers are helping in mapping and digitisation," she added.
Previously, Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty expressed his concern in the wake of educational institutions in Kozhikode and Thrissur having received official letters from Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) requesting the deployment of student volunteers, including NSS, NCC, Scouts, Guides, and Souhrida Club members for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
He said that strict instructions have been issued to education department officials to ensure that students' learning is not disrupted.
Speaking to reporters, V Sivankutty said, "The demand by some revenue officials to deploy National Service Scheme (NSS) and NCC student volunteers for election-related duties, including the revision of the voter list, will adversely affect children's studies... According to the Right to Education Act, students' instructional time must be protected. Although the NSS and NCC encourage extracurricular activities and social service, it is not proper to continuously keep students out of regular classes on academic days to engage them in office work and field duties."
"Using children for official tasks unrelated to educational purposes amounts to a violation of their right to education. Strict instructions have been issued to education department officials to ensure that students' learning is not disrupted," he said.
At present, as part of the intensive verification of the electoral roll, a total of 5,623 personnel working under the education department have been appointed as Booth Level Officers. This includes 2,938 teachers, 2,104 non-teaching staff and 581 other employees.
V Sivankutty further said, "The state government has urged the Central Government to immediately release the SSK fund. The state has sent a letter to the Centre pointing this out. The SSK fund has not been released for the past two and a half years. Out of Rs 456 crore, only Rs 91.42 crore has been sanctioned by the Centre. BJP's state leaders and Union ministers are intervening in withholding the funds. The state BJP leadership and the Union ministers from Kerala have a role in blocking the funds in this manner. They must respond to this, or take steps to ensure that the money that rightfully belongs to the state is released."