Thiruvananthapuram: Setting a bad precedent, the Kerala Government has allowed the termination of 66 Higher Secondary Junior English teachers who were appointed through the Public Service Commission (PSC). These teachers will lose their jobs on March 31.
State government employees are very rarely forced to leave their employment without service benefits and salaries following de-recognition of posts.
Adding insult to injury, several among these 66 teachers had received transfer orders on Wednesday and had joined new schools on Thursday. They will now be losing jobs on Friday. These 66 teachers have also been removed from the Higher Secondary valuation duties, which start on April 3.
The government had earlier removed the posts in schools having less than seven English periods, leading to the termination of the most junior 66 teachers. These teachers had joined service between June 2021 and February 2023.
Meanwhile, the government had created supernumerary posts to retain the teachers facing job loss. However, the validity of this order too ends on March 31. While the Education Department had assured the teachers that they would be reappointed as and when new posts are created, there is uncertainty in this regard.
According to the government, guest teachers could be appointed in place of the sacked staff. But, it is pointed out that this also would cause expenditure to the government. “In that case, it is surprising why the government is not retaining us,” said a permanent teacher facing job loss.
Earlier, the government had protected aided teachers by creating supernumerary posts for a long period. The same concession has not been extended to teachers appointed through PSC, said the teacher.
The new precedent of teachers in regular service losing jobs has spread panic among the teaching community in Kerala.