Thiruvananthapuram, February 13 Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday called senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala's criticism of the early textbook distribution "condemnable" and said it "mocked the state".
Speaking to reporters, Chennithala questioned the need to distribute books even before the academic year had ended, when it was not clear how many students would be promoted to the next grade.
"Does Sivankutty decide which students have been promoted to the next class? Without knowing that, how can books be distributed to them? What kind of ‘Tughlaq reforms’ are these? He is trying to show people that books have been printed in advance. Is it the first time books are being distributed in Kerala?" he asked.
Responding to Chennithala's remarks, Vijayan said that during the UDF government before 2016, textbooks were not provided on time when schools reopened in June, forcing teachers to photocopy books for students.
"Since then, things have improved to the point where books for the next academic year are being distributed before the current year ends," the CM said.
"Therefore, criticism of this is condemnable and amounts to making a mockery of the state," he claimed.
Vijayan made the remarks after inaugurating the state-level distribution of books and school uniforms to students at St Mary’s School, Pattom.
The CM said the state’s education sector and government-run schools have seen major improvements under the LDF government compared to the previous UDF administration.
In a later Facebook post, Vijayan said the state-level distribution of 5.9 crore textbooks and 8 lakh handloom uniforms, initiated on Friday, reflected the revolutionary changes in Kerala’s public education sector due to various schemes implemented by the LDF government over the past 10 years.
"The former opposition leader’s remark calling this a ‘Tughlaq reform’ is ridiculous and condemnable," the CM wrote, adding that comments undermining the state’s achievements since the UDF regime must be opposed.
He urged everyone to move forward without paying attention to such "insults".
Earlier in the day, State General Education Minister V Sivankutty described Chennithala's criticism of the early distribution of books and uniforms as a "challenge to the future of underprivileged children."
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said there was nothing wrong with the early distribution of textbooks.
He, however, claimed that textbook distribution was delayed only once during the UDF regime, due to technical reasons, and criticised the General Education Department for "miserably failing to update the curriculum in line with changing times."
