Mannarkkad (Palakkad): Former Kerala Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel has defended his conduct during a student felicitation programme in Mannarkkad, where he has been accused of publicly humiliating students.

Responding to the controversy, Jaleel said he interacted with the students in his capacity as a teacher after noticing that many lacked general reading habits despite their academic excellence.

He said promoting reading among students was the objective of his interaction and added that he spoke to them as an educator rather than a politician.

Referring to the incident involving a student who made a minor mistake while writing an address in Hindi, Jaleel noted that he merely corrected the error. He also claimed that his playful gesture of pulling the student's ear was being misrepresented as an act of humiliation.

Jaleel maintained that neither the students nor their parents had lodged any complaint over the incident and insisted that he had behaved in the manner of a teacher advising his students.

He further alleged that the controversy was being politicised to tarnish the state's public education system. At the same time, Jaleel said he was willing to apologise "a hundred times" if anyone had genuinely felt hurt or insulted by his actions.

The controversy stems from a student felicitation programme held in Mannarkkad, where K.T. Jaleel was seen interacting with Class 10 students who had secured A-plus grades. During the event, he questioned some students about their writing skills, corrected a student's mistake while writing an address and pulled the child's ear on stage. The visuals sparked widespread criticism, with opponents alleging that the students were publicly humiliated. Following the incident, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights registered a suo motu case against the CPM leader.