An agreement has been reached over ratifying the appointment of teachers who have been appointed in aided schools as per rules but whose appointment has not been recognised by the State government.
The agreement was reached in talks that Minister for Finance T.M. Thomas Isaac and Minister for General Education C. Ravindranath had with Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Church Cardinal Baselios Cleemis and Mavelikara Bishop Joshua Mar Ignathios, who led various management representatives.
The meeting decided that on the assurance of managements that aided school teachers who are at present on the protected teachers’ list following a division fall in schools would be absorbed by them, the teachers appointed as per rules to additional posts created following an increase in student strength but whose appointment was yet to be ratified by the government would be given approval. The government had not been ratifying the appointments to the posts since 2016.
It had also been insisting that in case of two additional posts, appointment could be made to one post by it for redeployment of protected teachers and to the second by the management.
The meeting decided that in the matter of filling vacancies on 1:1 basis, the implementation would be on the basis of verdicts in cases that are in the court.
General Education Secretary A. Shajahan and Additional DPI Santhosh were present.
Kerala Pradesh School Teachers Association general secretary M. Salahudeeen said the managements had agreed to appoint protected teachers, but without any decision on filling vacancies on 1:1 basis, how the above had been finalised was not clear. After all, appointments in the event of retirement, resignation, death, promotion, or transfer were being ratified by the government. The bone of contention was the 1:1 ratio.
Till now, there had been no permanent solution to that, and teachers’ appointment would continue to be in the eye of a storm. It can only been seen as a decision taken with an eye on the polls.
Talks were held only with church leaders, not with other managements such as the MES or the NSS.
