Kerala education minister meets Archbishop amid row over aided school teacher appointments

NEW DELHI: Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty met Archbishop Thomas Tharayil of the Syro-Malabar Changanassery Archdiocese here on Saturday amidst the ongoing standoff between the state government and Christian church managements over the appointment of teachers in aided schools against vacancies reserved for differently-abled candidates.

Sivankutty, accompanied by Kerala Congress (Mani) chairman Jose K Mani, visited the Archbishop’s house in Changanassery here. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Sivankutty termed it as a courtesy visit following his official engagements in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts. He said Archbishop Tharayil had visited his home two months ago to discuss matters related to general education.

"After that, the Supreme Court issued an order permitting the Nair Service Society (NSS) managements to make such appointments. The legal opinion received by the Education Department is that the order applies only to the NSS. However, other managements, including those represented by the Archbishop, have requested that the verdict be made applicable to them as well," Sivankutty said.

He added that various aided school managements had met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and submitted petitions on the issue. "The Chief Minister has already said in New Delhi that the matter will be resolved through discussions. A meeting has been called on October 13, and the issue will be settled after that," the minister said. He described the discussion with Archbishop Tharayil as cordial, adding that broader issues related to general education were not discussed.

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Unpaid teachers a public issue: Archbishop

Archbishop Tharayil said thousands of teachers working without salaries or on daily wages was not an issue confined to Christian managements. He said that it is a public issue. "We are happy that the state government under the chief minister’s leadership is responding positively.

The decision to hold a meeting to find a solution is a great relief and aligns with our demand," he said. The Archbishop added that the government’s approach shows that it views the matter as serious. "They treated it as a public concern, and we hope for a positive outcome," he said.

When asked about the Kerala Congress (Mani)’s role, Tharayil said all political parties had supported the church on the issue and thanked leaders, including Jose K Mani, for taking the initiative to help resolve it. The issue pertains to the state government’s refusal to allow teacher appointments from the general category in cases where vacancies reserved for differently abled candidates remain unfilled in aided schools.

However, the Nair Service Society (NSS) obtained a favourable ruling from the Supreme Court allowing such appointments. Citing the apex court verdict, other aided school managements also approached the state government with a similar demand, which was rejected.