Govt orders action against schools making students wear caste wristbands in TN

The Director of Education in Tamil Nadu Dr S Kanappan has written to all Chief Education Officers to identify and take action against schools where children were made to wear wrist bands of different colours to identify their caste.

According to the letter, the officer trainees of IAS 2018 batch had lodged a representation to the government which stated that students in some schools were being made to wear colour coded wrist bands which indicated their caste.

"These wristbands, which come in shades of red, yellow, green and saffron indicate whether they belong to a 'Lower Caste' or 'Upper Caste'. In addition to this, rings and forehead 'Tilaka' on the head were also used as caste marker," the letter read.

The Director has instructed Chief Educational Officers and District Educational Officers to take appropriate steps to identify such schools and issue suitable instructions to the headmasters to prevent such practices immediately.

In addition, the officers have been asked to take action on persons who were responsible for the discrimination and submit a report at the earliest.

According to the letter, these practices were being allegedly used for sports team selection, reassembling during classes and lunch intervals.

"These practices supposedly, are being used for sports team selection, reassembling during classes and lunch intervals. Allegedly, these practices are enforced by students themselves and supported by influential caste persons and teachers," the letter stated.