Muzaffarnagar student slapping incident: "Ready to adopt, offer him free education," says Kerala

The Left government in Kerala on Monday, August 28 said it was ready to adopt the boy from the minority community in Uttar Pradesh who was seen being slapped by his classmates on the instruction of a teacher — in an incident brought to light through a video circulating on social media. Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty said the state government will provide the best education to the child if his parents agree.

"If his parents are willing, then the education department in Kerala is ready to adopt the child and provide him with the best education," Sivankutty told the media. Stating that the Left government and the people of Kerala strive to protect secular values, the minister added that a child from the violence-hit Manipur state is currently being provided education in a Kerala school.

Adding more, he said the southern state thinks and acts in a progressive manner and pointed out that the omitted parts in the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) textbooks are being taught in the state through issuing additional textbooks in the schools. Also, on August 27, Sivankutty wrote a letter to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking stern action against the culprits involved in the slapping case.

The video, which had gone viral on social media, showed a school teacher asking her students to slap a boy for apparently not completing his homework, whom she is heard referring to as "Mohammaden" and also passing objectionable remarks against the community. Sivankutty, in his letter to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, said that such an incident sets a dangerous precedent for impressionable young minds, as stated in a report by PTI.