Meenangadi: Plus Two students of the Government Higher Secondary School, Meenangadi, staged a protest on Monday demanding the withdrawal of the transfer order issued against their principal, Shivi Krishnan, who was shifted to the Government Higher Secondary School, Vaduvanchal, in the wake of the recent controversy over alleged alcohol consumption during a school tour.

Raising slogans such as 'Bring Back Our Principal', 'End Politicising Education", the students cutting across political affiliations rallied behind Shivi Krishnan, accusing certain groups of attempting to politicise the controversy and demanding his immediate reinstatement. They staged a sit-in in front of the school and took out a protest rally on the campus, carrying placards and shouting slogans in support of him.

The controversy erupted on Thursday when a group of parents and local residents, including some PTA members, blocked the tourist buses at the school entrance after the students and teachers returned from the tour. They alleged that the principal and PTA president Hijas had consumed alcohol during the trip. However, an alcohol test by the police reportedly cleared the principal of the allegation.

Although the initial protests were largely directed against PTA president Hijas, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol during the return journey, the subsequent transfer of the principal triggered widespread resentment among the students. Apart from the controversy, other reasons referred in the transfer order of the education department includes failure in ensuring prior permission from the Regional Higher Secondary Directorate for the tour programme, opting for night travel which was prohibited in school tours, and also extending the tour for two more days as the allowed period was only three days.

The immediate provocation for the students' protest was a hurried transfer order issued on Saturday night in connection with the controversy. The students alleged that the action against the principal was unjustified and demanded that the authorities revoke the order without delay.

Shivi Krishnan, an active member of a pro-Left teachers' organisation, had earned a reputation for running the institution with a firm hand, ensuring the active participation of both teachers and students in academic and extracurricular activities.

A PTA member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the school had witnessed considerable improvement under his leadership. However, his strict style of administration had also earned him enemies.

"Some teachers and students were unhappy with the principal's strict approach. Even when the allegations were raised against him, the pro-CPM members in the PTA committee remained largely silent, while the UDF members, led by the IUML, spearheaded the campaign against him along with the PTA president," the member said.

The School Management Committee (SMC) has also thrown its weight behind the principal, alleging that his transfer was the outcome of a politically motivated campaign. It maintained that the institution had made significant strides in academic performance and extracurricular activities during his tenure.

Interestingly, several PTA committee members, who had maintained silence since the controversy erupted on Thursday, have now come out in support of PTA president Hijas Ulladan as well. They said they had initially remained silent out of fear of the campaign against him but had since realised that the entire episode was allegedly part of a political conspiracy.

The students' agitation and the shifting positions within the PTA have added a new dimension to the controversy, which initially centred on allegations of indiscipline during the school tour but has now snowballed into a larger dispute over the principal's transfer and the alleged politicisation of the issue.