Kochi: Christian educational managements across Kerala have strongly criticized Education Minister V. Sivankutty for making what they termed “untrue, childish, and insulting statements” regarding the long-standing issue of appointing differently-abled teachers. They called on the minister to end his rhetoric and instead address the pressing livelihood concerns of thousands of teachers who have been trapped without pay for years.
The dispute stems from a government order issued on July 31st by the Education Department. The order stated that appointments in aided schools would only be approved and paid once the vacancies reserved for differently-abled teachers were fully filled. According to law, 3% of teaching posts since 1996 and 4% of posts since 2018 must be reserved for differently-abled candidates. Christian managements maintain that they have complied with this requirement by leaving the required quota of posts vacant, duly informing the government through official affidavits and uploading the information on the Samadhi portal.
However, despite publishing advertisements and inviting applications, managements claim that not even half of the reserved posts have been filled due to the lack of eligible differently-abled candidates. They argue that, in such a scenario, the government should approve the appointments of other teachers without delay while keeping the required quota intact. Instead, they say, the government has chosen an inflexible stance that has left more than 16,000 teachers without salaries since 2018, even though they continue to work in schools. This policy, they say, has also affected nearly 50,000 family members dependent on their income.
Christian managements insist that they have never opposed the appointment of differently-abled teachers and have consistently cooperated with the government to implement reservation norms. They argue that the problem is a lack of sufficient candidates, not non-cooperation from schools. Requests and petitions to resolve this issue have been repeatedly submitted over the years, but with little response.
In this context, managements expressed anger at recent remarks by the education minister, who accused Christian institutions of politically motivated protests and deliberate obstruction of differently-abled appointments. “Such statements are untrue and irresponsible. They ignore the reality of thousands of teachers who are denied their rightful wages,” leaders said. They alleged that the minister is trying to brand their moral struggle for survival as a “pressure tactic” ahead of elections.
Management representatives stressed that their protest is not politically driven but purely humanitarian. “This is not about elections or conflicts with the government. This is about survival. Sixteen thousand individuals and fifty thousand family members are struggling because their rightful wages are withheld. Please do not trivialize their tears by dragging politics into this issue,” they declared.
They also reaffirmed their willingness to hold discussions with the minister and the government to find a practical solution. However, they warned that continued governmental stubbornness would amount to an injustice against citizens who have fulfilled their duties but are denied their wages.
“Any democratic government must ask itself: is it appropriate to remain unmoved while thousands of families suffer? This is not a fight against differently-abled teachers, but a plea for justice for all teachers. We urge the government to separate politics from the livelihoods of people,” the Christian managements concluded in their statement.