Freedom with Responsibility at School
Illustration by ChatGPT A 14-year-old girl, student of grade 9, was raped and killed by her own boyfriend of grade 11 a few weeks back in Kerala. Reason: suspicion and jealousy. The boy thought that the girl had another boyfriend as well. This is not an isolated incident. Heinous crimes are on a rapid rise in schools. Just a few days back, The Hindu reported that “New cases of HIV among those in the 15–24-year age group, which was 9% in 2022, had risen to 14.2% in 2024. This figure was 15.4% between April and October in 2025.” Sex is not a crime. But it is undesirable, particularly in schools, when it shifts from being age-appropriate education about human development to behaviour that disrupts safety, consent, dignity, and the primary purpose of schooling. Zachariah is one of the finest contemporary writers in Malayalam. Speaking at the First M T Vasudevan Nair Memorial Lecture a few weeks back, Zachariah drew his audience’s attention to the tremendous progress made by the ...
