Another Kerala panchayat does away with ‘sir’, ‘madam’
The Hindu
Mulanthuruthy block panchayat renames application forms for various services as ‘rightful claims forms’
Mulanthuruthy block panchayat has become the latest local body to do away with what is being widely perceived as a colonial vestige of the public addressing officials as ‘sir’ or ‘madam’. Henceforth, they can address officials either by their names or designations. Besides, application forms for various services to be submitted by the public have been renamed as ‘rightful claims forms’. “The move follows the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee direction to all local bodies governed by the Congress to follow the model set by Mathur panchayat in Palakkad, which first passed such a resolution,” said Raju P. Nair, Mulanthuruthy block panchayat president. The decision was taken unanimously by the governing committee.Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.