The Higher Secondary School Teachers Association (HSSTA) has demanded that 110 supernumerary posts of junior English teachers whose tenure is set to expire by March end be allowed to continue at least for the next academic year.
The State government had in 2017 amended the workload condition for creating the post of junior higher secondary schoolteacher from three to 14 extra periods to seven to 14 extra periods. If the number of extra periods was below seven, guest teachers could be appointed.
Based on a 2017 government direction to ascertain the number of junior English teachers in government schools, it was found that of the 337 junior teacher posts that existed prior to 2021-22, only in 87 schools did the junior teachers have a workload of seven to 14 periods.
As many as 146 teachers were currently working as junior English teachers leaving 59 teachers excess. Adding these 59 teachers to 47 candidates who were to be appointed as the Kerala Public Service Commission advice memo, two included in recommendations from the PSC, and two on loss of pay, 110 supernumerary posts were created by the government whose term was coming to an end in March and who now would have to be accommodated in possible slots.
A number of retirement vacancies would arise over the next couple of months, the HSSTA said. Some of these teachers could be accommodated after senior English teachers were promoted to the vacancies and the junior teachers posted in their place. Some of the junior teachers could be redeployed to high schools or through the teachers’ bank for a year or two so that they could continue to work.
These teachers could even be deployed to the Samagra Shiksha, Kerala, block resource centres, the association said.
Valuation of answer scripts of the year-end examinations and single-window Plus One admission were also coming up, the association pointed out, calling for these posts to be continued to the next academic year at least.
