The AIDSO Kerala State Committee opined that the decision to shift the office of the Department of Education, which had been functioning at the Lakshadweep Administration in Kochi for 30 years, is anti-democratic and anti-students.
Five employees, including office peons and clerks, have been asked to report with all electronic instruments, files and other office supplies to Kavaratti, the capital of Lakshadweep, within a week. Transferring employees is effectively equivalent to shutting down the office.
The Department of Education started its office in Kochi three decades ago to solve the problems of students coming to Kerala from Lakshadweep. Lakshadweep students approached this office for scholarships and benefits.
The main institution that connects the people of the island to the mainland is now gone. This move will push about 5000 Lakshadweep students studying in Kerala, into insecurity. From now on, students will have to go directly to the office in Kavaratti to report any problem they may be facing. This will be very difficult for students studying in Kerala.
Such undemocratic moves by the administration continue amidst strong protests demanding the recall of the new administrator, Praful Khoda Patel. As in Kavaratti, Kochi has a number of offices associated with the island government. These offices were established to communicate with the government and to expedite matters on the island. Such anti-democratic measures follow in the footsteps of the the controversial drafts brought out by the administration. Offices dealing with matters of agriculture and animal husbandry have already been closed.
The AIDSO State Committee urges that the current move to change the education office be reversed immediately and that all democratic minded people mobilize to fight against this move against the student community.
