Order regulating Kerala teachers’ recruitment angers school managements

A circular regulating recruitment of teachers by private schools in Kerala - issued by a young officer - has upset the government and school managers alike.

The circular reiterates that appointments to permanent teaching posts should be made only on the recommendation of a three-member selection committee which includes a senior government official not below the rank of a deputy secretary or deputy collector and strictly on merit.

The circular, issued by Kesavendra Kumar, director, higher secondary education, has the powerful caste and religious community groups - which run most of the schools under the ‘aided’ category - agitated over disparities in sharing benefits.

The 27-year-old officer from Bihar, who graduated privately and prepared for civil services while working as a railway clerk, was in the news recently when pro-government students attacked him. Later the High Court rapped Kumar for his refusal to regularise the appointment of six schoolteachers in Palakkad.

Kumar says he only codified the rules which are already in the Kerala Education Rules (KER) to prevent misuse and to ensure quality. However, the school managements claim the new orders would literally ban institutions from making permanent appointments this year.

The decision is expected to have far-reaching political ramifications for the Congress party-led government which is already hit by a number of controversies.

Education Minister P K Abdurabb feels Kumar has exceeded his brief. The minister said action would be initiated against Kumar as soon as his superior officer returns from a Chennai trip.

According to the circular issued on Thursday, the government nominee should see that all the conditions stipulated in the KER are strictly followed and verify that the candidates possess all mandatory qualifications for teachers besides ensuring that the candidate is not above the age limit.

Only posts to be notified by the regional deputy directors in accordance with the norms contained in the circular can be filled by the schools and the appointments would be based on the qualifications and the performance in the interview.

Abdurabb claimed the director has no right to issue such an order without his consent and he would look into the matter. However, Kumar insists he had to issue the circular in view of a series of complaints and litigations on the appointments by the managers.

G Sukumaran Nair,  general secretary, Nair Service Society, which runs a large number of educational institutions in the aided sector, was the first to react saying it would destroy the higher education sector.

“The government’s action is aimed at destroying private schools which is fulfilling a social responsibility,” Nair said. “The new circular will torpedo the functioning of these schools”.

More than 60% of the 166,939 schoolteachers work in aided schools, where they get jobs, in most cases, paying huge amounts to managers. However, their salaries and retirement benefits are paid from the state exchequer.

There are 1,836 higher secondary schools with a total strength of 329, 674 students in the state of which 755 (41.2%) are government-run, 668 (36.4%) are aided schools and the remaining 413 (22.5%) unaided schools.