Madras HC Orders Removal of ‘Community’ and ‘Caste’ Names from Govt Schools

The Madras High Court has directed the Chief Secretary of the Tamil Nadu government to initiate appropriate action to remove community and caste names from the names of government schools across the state.

A bench of Justices S M Subramaniam and C Kumarappan issued this directive while passing further interim orders on proceedings initiated suo motu, following the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy that claimed nearly 65 lives.

The division bench noted that government schools in the Kalvarayan Hills area were operating under the name “Government Tribal Residential School.” The use of the term ‘Tribal’ in the school’s name was deemed unwarranted, as it could stigmatize the children studying there, making them feel they were attending a “Tribal School” rather than an institution on par with other schools in nearby localities. The court emphasized that the stigmatisation of children should not be approved by the Courts or the government.

The bench further instructed that wherever such names indicating a particular community or caste were used, they must be removed, and the institutions should be renamed “Government School.” Children residing in those localities should be granted admission to these schools to pursue their education without any stigma.

The bench questioned the impact on society if a Government School was named “Tribal School,” expressing pain that even in the 21st century, the government allowed such terms to be used in its schools, which operate with public funds. The bench highlighted that Tamil Nadu, being a forerunner in social justice, cannot permit stigmatic words to be used as prefixes or suffixes in the names of government schools or any government institutions.

In this regard, the Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu is required to take appropriate action, the bench concluded.