A black board has been replaced by "green board" in a primary school in Malappuram District in Kerala, sparking protests from different quarters since green is the colour of the flag of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) whose representative is the Education Minister.
It was in the Government Upper Primary School in Kakkad in Tirur where the black board in a class room was replaced as part of the infrastructure development work taken up with the support of the MLA's Development Fund.
While the League leaders dismissed the decision as having any political bearing, former Education Minister and CPI(M) leader M A Baby took exception to it.
"In a democratic society, it would be wrong to take decisions unilaterally and without being bothered about their fallout," Baby said.
Justifying the decision, IUML MLA from Tirur, C Mammootty, said the "green board" concept was thought of since it was more visually pleasing than black board.
"It is unfortunate that an unnecessary controversy is being kicked up by certain quarters over this. The idea of green board was thought of as part of improving the academic standard and physical infrastructure of the schools in the area to international standards," Mamootty told PTI.
He said it was the global trend to make everything 'green" as the shade associated with the nature and in many campuses around the world there is a switch over to green boards.
