THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what can be seen as a move to appease the Christian community ahead of assembly election, the state government has extended to other aided school managements the relaxation accorded to Nair Service Society on regularising appointments to posts other than those reserved for the differently abled.
The decision, in line with a Supreme Court verdict procured by NSS in 2025, was taken after consulting the advocate general and senior advocates, General Education Minister V Sivankutty said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Terming the decision a landmark move to resolve legal complexities, the minister said the move will benefit 20,000 teachers in over 2,000 schools across the state run by corporate or private managements.
Sivankutty said the government will ensure all benefits for these teachers, adding that instructions have been issued to complete the proposal approving their appointments within two weeks. However, the 442 teachers who have filed special leave petitions -- opposing the state government’s regularisation norms -- before the SC will have to await the court verdict, he said.
In another key announcement, the minister announced a two-year relaxation in Kerala Teacher Eligibility Test (K-TET) norms for candidates with other qualifications, including SET, NET, MPhil, and PhD. Teachers with these qualifications as of 2025 September 1, will now have to clear K-TET within two years. Though they will receive temporary approval for their salary scale, their promotion proceedings will be decided after seeking legal advice from the advocate general, Sivankutty said.
On a petition filed by the NSS, the SC instructed the state government to approve the appointment of teachers and non-teaching staff, from 2021, to non-reserved vacancies in NSS-managed schools. Even though it was mentioned in the order that this can apply to other managements, the state refrained from moving further, which drew criticism from various corners, including Christian school managements.
|With the new order in effect, teachers, who were earlier working on provisional basis or on daily wages, will receive regularised status -- with a better pay scale and other benefits. However, this will not affect the vacancies under 4% reservation for differently abled candidates.
The archbishop of the Syro-Malabar archeparchy of Changanassery, Thomas Tharayil welcomed the “delayed” decision. He said the move would help managements of all communities.
Bettter pay scale
On a petition filed by the NSS, the SC instructed the state govt to approve the appointment of teachers and non-teaching staff, from 2021, to non-reserved vacancies in NSS-managed schools.
Though the order mentioned that this can apply to other managements, the state refrained from moving further, drawing criticism from various corners, including Christian school managements.
With the new order in effect, teachers, who were earlier working on provisional basis or on daily wages, will receive regularised status -- with a better pay scale and other benefits.
