THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The temporary postings in Government Model Residential Schools (MRSs) have come under scanner for allegedly ignoring reservation norms.

In a complaint sent to SC/ST Development Minister K A Thulasi, Manikuttan Paniyan, an educationalist, claimed candidates from general category were appointed to the three vacancies in the history department of three MRSs – Nallurnad, Kaniyambetta and Noolpuzha – in Wayanad. However, officials from the department said though weightage is given to the ST candidates, reservation is not mandated for the temporary appointments.

In his complaint, which he also sent to the ST development department director, Manikuttan claimed qualified and experienced ST candidates were overlooked in the selection process. He urged the authorities to look into the veracity of the selection procedure and take policy decisions to ensure qualified tribal people get representation in the workforce of these institutions.

Pointing out that reservation is only considered in appointments to relatively smaller posts like sweepers and wardens, Manikuttan highlighted that having teachers from the same community led to a decline in student dropouts and encouraged the children to attend classes regularly.

“While PSC fills teachers’ vacancies following reservation norms, aren’t tribal community eligible to get priority in these institutions that are aimed at uplifting ST people? When reservation norms are not applied to these temporary posts, the tribals who went through many struggles to earn these qualifications are effectively competing with people from general category,” he alleged.

When contacted, Minister Thulasi told TNIE that she will look into the issue. “We will look into the complaint, including interview date and selected candidates, and take a final call,” she said.

This story has been written by Aswin Asok Kumar.