Kochi: A strong statement from the Syro Malabar Media Commission has stirred debate in Kerala’s political and education circles, after the ruling of Assembly Speaker A. N. Shamseer dismissed a crucial concern raised regarding thousands of teachers in Christian-aided schools.
The controversy began when MLA Mons Joseph highlighted the plight of teachers in Christian-aided management schools, many of whom have worked for years without legal recognition or a proper salary. Speaker Shamseer, in his ruling, remarked that “the issue of bishops should not have been raised in the Assembly.”
The remark has been described as both dismissive and unjust by the Syro Malabar Media Commission, which issued a sharp rebuttal.
“The Hon. Speaker must understand that this is not an issue of bishops, as he assumes,” the Commission declared. “It is an issue that directly affects over sixteen thousand teachers in the Christian-aided sector. This is not a question of Church power or influence it is a life-threatening issue for ordinary people who are struggling to survive after being caught in political games and strangled by black laws created without consideration for human dignity.”
The statement pointed out that the plight of these teachers cannot be brushed aside by reducing it to a ‘religious management’ question, as their lives and livelihoods are at stake.
The Commission further criticized the Speaker’s rationale, questioning the democratic inclusivity of the Assembly.
“Are bishops not citizens of Kerala, Hon. Speaker? What logic permits you to say that their concerns cannot be raised in the Assembly? Or is the Legislative Assembly a forum only for those who carry the flag of your political ideology?” the statement asked, framing the issue as one of fundamental rights and democratic representation.
The Media Commission also accused the government of a deliberate and hostile approach toward Christian management institutions. “First, Education Minister V. Sivankutty delivered a misleading and malicious statement. Now, the Speaker has taken an equally negative stance. One does not need a degree in law to understand that the reservation for differently-abled people is being strategically misused as part of a larger plan to harm Christian school managements and to further marginalize teachers serving under them,” the statement alleged.
With over sixteen thousand teachers directly affected, the issue has now expanded beyond ecclesiastical boundaries into the wider socio-political arena. The Church leadership and education stakeholders are calling it a humanitarian crisis rather than an internal dispute of Christian managements.
Observers note that the Speaker’s controversial ruling has not only triggered discontent among Christian communities but has also exposed what many perceive as the politicization of educational policy in Kerala.
The Syro Malabar Media Commission concluded by stressing that the voices of teachers must not be silenced under the pretext of religious labeling: “This is a matter of justice, survival, and democracy. To ignore it is to abandon the very people who have sustained Kerala’s education sector for decades.”