'Aiyyo' is probably the first word any Malayali would utter on being surprised, shocked or even hurt.
But this class V student of a private school in Kochi had to write an imposition after he inadvertently said 'aiyyo' in the classroom when he was pushed down by another student, reports said.
The little boy was asked to write ‘I will not talk in Malayalam’ 50 times, his father was quoted as saying by the media. Even another student who asked the child 'entada' (What happened?) on hearing the 'aiyyo' had to sit for one round of impositions.
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However, the school has rejected the allegations and said that there is no strict rule of speaking only English in the campus.
If the parent's allegations are found to be right, the incident puts a serious question mark on our educational system that shies away from teaching the future generation our mother tongue, Malayalam.