Heritage school closed even as govt readies to take it over

Even as the LDF government in Kerala today decided to take over uneconomic aided-schools which are facing closure threat, a 140-year-old school in Kozhikode district was shut down following a court order.
A cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, decided to take over four schools, including the Malaparamaba Upper Primary school in Kozhikode, which was running in loss.
However, the authorities closed down the Malaparamba school, which has a strength of about 60-odd students, in the evening implementing a Kerala High Court direction today asking the government to comply with its earlier order allowing the school management's plea to shut it down.

When Advocate General C P Sudhakara Prasad informed the Court that the state proposed to take over the school, Justice A K Jayasankar Nambiar asked the government to comply with the court order first and file compliance report on June 10.
The government had recently approached the Supreme Court against the school management's decision to close down the school, but the apex court had dismissed its appeal upholding the high court order to shut down the school by today.
The school had been witnessing protests for some time by students, parents and teachers with support from cultural and political activists against the management's decision to close it.

District authorities' two attempts last month to implement the court order had failed as the protesters prevented them from carrying out their mission.

With the LDF government's decision, the school would temporarily function at the Kozhikode Collectorate premises from tomorrow, district authorities said.
Students and teachers said they were hopeful of coming back to their school campus as soon as possible after the government completed the legal procedures for the take over.
However, school Manager P K Padmarajan said the government had intervened in the issue without understanding the facts and added he would fight it out legally if the state authorities went ahead with its plans to take it over.

Earlier, the Chief Minister told reporters here that the government would take adequate measures to protect loss-making schools.
"The government will ensure protection of schools that are facing closure threats. We are not for closing schools and handing them over for being converted into real estate ventures," he said.
Education Minister C Raveendranath said the government would inform the Supreme Court about its readiness to take over the Malaparamba school.