Ravishankar courts controversy on remarks on govt schools

[1]

Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar courted controversy by claiming that government schools are breeding grounds for Naxalism and his comments were condemned by educationists and a ministers on Wednesday as 'unfortunate and illogical'.

Union Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal expressed surprise at the remarks and posed a question as to whether people in high positions in all walks of life who have studied in government schools are Naxals.

Addressing a function in Hindi at a school near Jaipur last evening, Ravishankar said government should privatise education and close state-run schools as they breed Naxals.

"Government ko koi school nahi chalana chahiye. Aksar paya jata hai ki government school se padhe hue bacche hi is tarha naxalvad me hinsa ke marg me chale jate hai"(Government should not run any school. It is often found that boys studied in government schools go into Naxalism and violence).

The Art of Living founder, who is also popularly called Guruji, had also said that all government schools should be privatised.

"I feel that all the schools and colleges should be privatised and handed over to some other Sanstha (organisation). Such things are not in the boys of private schools and they (from private schools) move ahead with an ideal and teachers are responsible for it," he added.

Rajasthan Education Minister Brijkishore Sharma said Ravishankar's remarks were unfortunate and uncalled for.

Around 50 people including students of government higher secondary school at Jhalana in Jaipur, their guardians and other locals burnt an effigy of Ravishankar in front of the school. They demanded an apology from the spiritual guru.

People's Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL) while criticising Ravishankar demanded legal action against him.

Asked by newsmen in Delhi for his response, Sibal said people who are in the highest positions in the government and outside government, members of the judiciary and former Presidents have studied in government schools.

"Can it ever be said that they are all naxalites," he asked. Sibal said he would give a 'benefit of doubt' to Ravi Shankar "because I do not think even temporarily a person would be inclined to say such a thing because it would be such a sweeping statement that no individual having a sense of balance would make such a statement."