The Education Department’s reported move to sanction new higher secondary batches and schools in the unaided sector has drawn criticism from teachers’ associations.
Association representatives said implementing the move without scientific planning would only serve the interests of school managements in illegally collecting huge sums of money under the pretext of ‘donation,’ from candidates aspiring to fill the teaching posts thus created.
The government has not yet made any attempt to find out which schools actually needed a higher secondary batch.
The present move to start new batches and school in every panchayat, according to the Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA), is unscientific and with clandestine motives.
“It is learnt that the Education Department was planning to sanction a majority of these new batches in the aided sector to help the managements to get huge amounts of money from prospective teachers,” said KSTA State general secretary M.Shajahan.
The Kerala Aided Higher Secondary Teachers Association (KAHSTA) has also strongly come out against the Education Department’s move.
According to a joint statement issued by the Association president Joshy Antony and Treasurer A.K. Abdul Hakkim, shortage of higher secondary seats was there only in the districts of the Malabar region, including Kasaragod, Malappuram and Kozhikode.
The authorities should know that 50,000 higher secondary seats remained vacant in different southern districts of the State, said the statement.
“The State government’s move to sanction over 600 new Plus Two batches across the State would invite far-reaching consequences,” said Mr. Hakkim.
“This will only serve the interests of the greedy school managements, who have already struck a clandestine deal with the political party which handles the Education portfolio in the State,” he alleged.
