Parents in Tamil Nadu have complained that many private schools are still maintaining caste and religion columns in the bio-data section of diaries issued to students, as per a report by The New Indian Express.

S Ravikumar (name changed), father of a child who is studying in Class VIII in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) school on Thadagam Road, Coimbatore, said, “Last year, we opposed the columns and the management assured us they would not print caste and religion details. But this year’s diaries continue to have the caste and religion columns.”

Functionaries of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK) on Monday, July 3, submitted a petition to the district administration seeking action against the schools asking for these details.

“We submitted a complaint with evidence to the district administration last year. However, officials didn’t make proper inquiries in the private schools and submitted a reply that the schools asked for caste and religion details only while providing scholarships. It indicates that educational officers are also supporting private schools,” DVK president M Nehrudass told TNIE.

Moreover, Chief Educational Officer L Sumathi told TNIE that private schools must not ask for community details through the diary and that they should maintain such details in the office room only. She assured that the department would take steps on this matter through the district educational officer.