Now, discrimination in school admissions is shockingly out in the open.

A school in Coimbatore has declared that no persons other than Christians need not even apply for admission to LKG classes, now open for the new academic session.

Several disappointed people returned shell shocked after seeing the declaration pasted on the gates of the school, Nirmalamatha Devi Convent at Kuniyamuttur in the city.

The Covai Post went and spoke with the officials of the school to check if the school administration had indeed put up the notice (please see picture). The officials confirmed that the information was absolutely correct and that people practising religions other than Christianity need not even apply.

Covai Post representative spoke to the school administration seeking to admit her ward and was told she could not apply if she was not a Christian. The notice contained the admission alert in a mixture of Malayalam and Tamil languages.

When the Covai Post reached the Principal and sought a clarification, she abruptly disconnected the phone. She was unavailable from that moment till the time of writing this report. Covai Post will update the story if and when a reaction from the Principal is received.

District Education Officer, Coimbatore, Ravindran Nair promised to hold an enquiry into the matter and if indeed the school practised discrimination, action will be taken against the school management.

R Deepa, Principal of Kidzee Primary School commented that many schools did practice similar discrimination albeit discreetly. “This open discrimination is shocking and it leaves a permanent scar on the noble profession of teaching,” she said. Already students are segregated on the basis of economic background, she lamented.

B. Srija , a retired lecturer, said that this discrimination will eventually have adverse impact on the student community itself. The students who graduate from these kinds of schools will not have an open mind and will have permanent mindset problems as they step into the outside world.