Catholic Church-run college in Kerala withdraws promo video as it ‘violates values and culture of institution’

Nirmala College at Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district of Kerala governed by Syrian Catholic Diocese of Kothamangalam has withdrawn a promotional video meant to attract aspirants to its various programmes in the new academic year

The autonomous Nirmala College at Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district of Kerala governed by the Syrian Catholic Diocese of Kothamangalam has withdrawn a promotional video meant to attract aspirants to its various programmes in the new academic year after the management found that it “violated the values, religious sentiments and the cultural traditions of the institution.”

The short video, nearly one-and-a-half minutes long, was released on a social media handle of the college on May 9. It featured a dream sequence set on the campus. A young man and a woman are seen holding their hands as the hit romantic Malayalam film song beginning ‘Poomaname’ is played in the background. It also showed a cover art of Malayalam romantic novel Inapravukal followed by a message that “reading opens your mind and ignites imagination.” The video ends with a message inviting applications online.

In a circular issued on May 12, Father Pius Malekandathil, manager of the college, said the short video that seemingly legitimises a lax atmosphere in the college is far from reality. “This is not Nirmala College and this is not the cultural and moral profile that we struggle hard to maintain in the college,” he said in the circular.

The video was produced by an agency handling the college’s advertisements on social media. The management has urged others not to forward the video. A committee has been set up to study the issue and submit a report immediately.

“Any educational institution, including Nirmala, is built up with the value system with which it guides the students and with the wholehearted support and goodwill of the general public. I solicit the goodwill and support of everyone to go further forward in academic pursuits with moral correctness,” the circular said.

A senior college functionary said the video had featured students on the campus and the project was helmed by a former student.

The college is accredited with A++ grade in the fourth cycle of the evaluation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with a cumulative grade point average of 3.73.