The All-Kerala Government College Teachers’ Association (AKGCTA) has come down hard on Ernakulam Maharaja’s college Principal NL Beena for her controversial comment that “girl students come to college to cosy up with boys”.

There have been complaints that the Principal doesn’t allow boys and girls to sit together.

An official statement from AKGCTA said that in the history of Maharaja’s college, no principal has ever made such a statement.

Earlier the principal had faced criticism after five students were arrested from the college for abusive graffiti on walls in the college campus. The arrest was based on a complaint filed by the Principal. She had alleged that the graffiti contained obscene words that harmed religious sentiments.

AKGCTA called her immature and irresponsible for posting those controversial graffiti on her Facebook wall.

The association also alleged that the principal had sent derogatory messages about a junior teacher to other teachers, and also photographed male teachers speaking with female teachers.

“The principal dismissed talented students like Faisal Razi, who sang a popular song in a film, and Shan Roop, who acted in a video film. If no action is taken against her, the ongoing anti-student sentiment would spread from self-financing colleges to government colleges as well,” AKGCTA statement warned, The New Indian Express reports.

When the students were arrested over the graffiti, there was simmering tension inside the campus, with students protesting and asking for freedom of expression. However, students organisations had backed the college administration.