Legal battle over permanent English teacher appointments in high school continues

Govt cites financial problems; PSC rank-holders say posts are being created for other language subjects

The legal battle over appointment of permanent teachers for English in high schools in the State continues with the government filing a review petition against a court order of 2021 on creation of permanent posts.

The State government had recently issued an order that the demand for creation of permanent posts for English high school teachers could not be met owing to financial difficulties. The order states that posts are created in government and aided schools on the basis of government policy and how the appointments are made can be decided by the government.

As per the order, staff fixation in the 2024-25 academic year for English will be held on period basis, and additional posts that arise will first be filled with teachers who had lost their posts owing to division fall and those remaining by those appointed on daily wages.

The order states that any further action will be taken on the basis of the final judgment on the review petition filed by the government. It also cites a Supreme Court order of 2021 in the State of UP vs Abhay Nandan Inter College case that there is no hurdle to creation of temporary posts if States are experiencing financial problems.

Last month, following a High Court order in a contempt of court case, the General Education department had heard individuals who were on the Kerala Public Service Commission’s English rank-list in various districts but to no avail.

In 2021, presidents of parent-teacher associations of two schools had gone to court seeking appointment of at least one English teachers in government schools with at least three divisions and 15 periods for English. They had said that there were 649 schools in the State that did not have even a single English teacher.

High school English rank holders have taken exception to the government order on appointing daily wagers despite PSC candidates being available in various districts. Questioning the justification of financial problems put forth by the government, they contend that permanent appointments are being made to posts created after conducting staff fixation on period basis for language subjects other than English.

The government, they point out, is going ahead with temporary appointments despite the High Court order three years ago to create a cadre of English teachers. The failure to appoint permanent English teachers despite the hue and cry over students’ lack of proficiency in the language does not bode well, they warn.

Published - November 13, 2024 08:27 pm IST