327 principals of Kendriya Vidyalayas or Central Schools run by the HRD Ministry across the country have been fired with no clear explanation.
The official line is that "all appointments made during the last five years were done in violation of constitutional provisions."
"We were not even given 24 hours
to handover the charge. Even a criminal is given a chance to prove his
crime. If a mistake has been done by someone, it should be clarified. How
can the services be terminated so fast?" said Sudeep Arora, Former Principal.
When pressed by the media, the Ministry offered an even more baffling reason. It says they've been removed because their appointments violated caste reservation guidelines.
Now these principals have approached the Central Administrative Tribunal and obtained a stay on their removal.
Detox drive
The HRD Ministry says many of its actions have been part of a process of detoxification and desaffronisation.
What's clear is that every change in government is bringing in its own politics.
In this context, the mass removal of school principals too is bound to raise certain questions.
And even if it were to be strictly
a matter of violation of rules, reversals of appointments after three years
of tenure, if nothing else, does come across as arbitrary.