Child Rights Panel Takes Suo Motu Action Against Ex-Minister Jaleel Over Student Reprimand
The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has registered a suo motu case against former Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel following an incident in which he allegedly reprimanded a student during a felicitation function in Mannarkkad on Saturday.
Commission chairperson K.V. Manoj Kumar initiated proceedings after videos of the incident circulated on social media. The Muslim Students Federation (MSF) accused Dr. Jaleel of publicly humiliating the student and described his conduct as inappropriate for a public figure.
Dr. Jaleel was inaugurating a function to felicitate SSLC and Plus Two toppers from wards 19, 20 and 22 of the Mannarkkad municipality. During his address, he invited a student who had secured high marks in Hindi to the stage and asked him to write his parents' names in Hindi.
When the student made a mistake, Dr. Jaleel rebuked him and briefly held his ear, an act he later described as a corrective gesture. Videos of the interaction later went viral, triggering criticism.
Responding to the controversy on Monday, Dr. Jaleel denied humiliating the student or causing offence to any participant. 'I do not deliver one-sided speeches at felicitation programmes. I interact with students and parents through questions and conversation, and that is exactly what happened at Mannarkkad,' he said.
Describing himself as a teacher first, Dr. Jaleel said he often used humour, friendly admonition and conversation to encourage students while pointing out their shortcomings. 'Anyone who watches the full video will understand the context,' he said.
Dr. Jaleel acknowledged holding the student's ear but denied pinching it or causing any pain. 'The student was smiling at the time. I neither pinched his ear nor hurt him. If you ask the student, he will confirm that. I do not believe any student or parent was offended. If anyone was offended, I will certainly take it into consideration,' he said.
Maintaining that it was the responsibility of elders, particularly teachers, to correct children when they made mistakes, Dr. Jaleel said failure to do so would allow such mistakes to persist. He also made an apparent reference to the recent controversy over Public Works Minister P.K. Basheer's Malayalam slang, suggesting that timely correction in childhood would have improved the Minister's language.
