Tamil Nadu college education department revokes circular on protests after students question it

The Directorate of Collegiate Education (DoCE) in Tamil Nadu issued a circular dated August 17 calling on the school education and police departments and district administration to take coordinated efforts to curb college student participation in protests organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and left-wing parties. The circular also asked authorities to forward details of action taken to the collegiate education department.

Within hours of the circular reaching student circles on Wednesday, the DoCE revoked the order. Joint Director P Cynthiaselvi declined to give a reason for issuing and then revoking the circular, saying she was acting on orders from the commissioner. The commissioner's name was not fully available in the report.

Students' organisations questioned why only the CJP and left parties were named in the notice, and their backlash preceded the revocation. The directive had drawn criticism for specifically targeting certain political groups.