The Kerala government on Thursday ordered Peace International School in Ernakulam district to shut down, a year after it was accused of teaching objectionable and communal content to its students. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked the students to be shifted to other institutes in the region.
In October 2016, Ernakulam District Education Officer had filed a complaint against the school, alleging that the syllabus encouraged extremist Islamic ideologies. The complaint alleged that the institute promoted enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, place of birth, language, resident etc and was involved in activities that would harm social harmony, Mathrubhumi reported.
The police had lodged cases against the school principal, administrator and members of the management committee. They have been trying to bring Managing Director MM Akbar back to India.
An investigation found that the school taught from textbooks compiled by the Burooj Realization – an Islamic educational institute based in Navi Mumbai – instead of books published by the State Council of Educational Research and Training or the National Council of Educational Research and Training. In December 2016, the Kochi Police had arrested three Mumbai-based publishers for printing the textbooks, The News Minute reported.
The school is run by the Kozhikode-based Peace Foundation. It operates more than 10 schools under the “Peace International” brand.
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