Even after the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) amended rules regarding the permanent appointment of Communicative English teachers in the higher secondary category, guest lecturers are in distress as the Postgraduate degree required to apply for the post is not offered by any university in the country.
According to a report by TNIE, though the PSC has prescribed BEd and an MA in Communicative English as the required qualification to apply for the post, an RTI document has revealed that there is no University Grants Commission-recognised university in the country that offers a PG degree in the subject. Initially, the commission had recommended securing the degree from a university in Kerala.
But as no institute in the state offers such a course, the guest lecturers demanded an amendment to the Higher Secondary Special Rules. Finally, on September 20, 2022, the rules were amended and a provision to secure the degree from any UGC-recognised university in the country with not less than 50% marks was set as the required qualification. However, in response to the RTI application submitted by a guest teacher from Kozhikode before the UGC on October 10, 2022, it was revealed that such a course is not offered by any university in the country.
"The UGC has only been able to list the universities that offer courses related to Communicative English in the RTI reply. It is now clear that the prescribed qualification to apply for the post of HSS Teacher (Communicative English) cannot be obtained from any university in the country. We are seeking government intervention to make necessary changes to the rule," she told TNIE.
Though MA English has been included as a qualification as per the order issued on June 4, 2018, the government is of the view that the appointment cannot be made since it is only an executive order and not an amendment to the Special Rules. The PSC delayed the recruitment citing it as a reason, said the teacher. Communicative English has been included in the higher secondary syllabus in the state for nearly three decades. Schools are appointing candidates who have an MA in English Literature on a contract basis to teach the subject. A total of 44 permanent teacher posts in Communicative English have been lying vacant for many years in higher secondary schools in the state.
