Author: Supriya Sharma
Publication: NDTV
Date: November 27, 2004
URL: http://www.ndtv.com/topstories/showtopstory.asp?slug=KV+principals+sacked+without+explanation&id=15755
327 principals of Kendriya Vidyalayas
or Central Schools run by the HRD Ministry across the country have been
fired with no clear explanation.
The official line is that "all appointments
made during the last five years were done in violation of constitutional
provisions."
"We were not even given 24 hours
to handover the charge. Even a criminal is given a chance to prove his
crime. If a mistake has been done by someone, it should be clarified. How
can the services be terminated so fast?" said Sudeep Arora, Former Principal.
When pressed by the media, the Ministry
offered an even more baffling reason. It says they've been removed because
their appointments violated caste reservation guidelines.
Now these principals have approached
the Central Administrative Tribunal and obtained a stay on their removal.
Detox drive
The HRD Ministry says many of its
actions have been part of a process of detoxification and desaffronisation.
What's clear is that every change
in government is bringing in its own politics.
In this context, the mass removal
of school principals too is bound to raise certain questions.
And even if it were to be strictly
a matter of violation of rules, reversals of appointments after three years
of tenure, if nothing else, does come across as arbitrary.
