Strike ends as Thalassery college principal says sorry to girl

Kannur: The Government Brennan College, Thalassery,  witnessed a students’  agitation on Wednesday claiming  the right of boys and  girls to sit together on the campus. The agitation was sparked off when principal N.L. Beena  warned a girl student leader, who was found sitting along with boys on the campus on Wednesday. Ms Beena called in the girl to her office and both had a heated argument over the issue with the girl saying that it was her right to sit along with boys.  

Later, hundreds of students staged a sit-in in front of the principal’s office for a few hours asking her  to end the ‘moral policing’ on the campus which has a great legacy of student struggles and gender equality.  

The siege was called off after a  conciliatory meeting was held in the presence of police and the principal tendered an apology to the girl student.

It  may be recalled that Ms Beena was transferred to  Brennan College  from Maharaja’s, Ernakulam, after a tumultuous tenure. 

SFI Kannur district committee member M.K. Hassan told DC that the students’ support to  the agitation showed that the principal was  haunting them with  moral policing.  “I hope she would have realised by now that this campus is not like Maharaja’s where she had some  support,”  he said.