Kerala's Educational Crossroads: Church-State Tensions Over Teacher Appointments

In a move highlighting ongoing tensions in Kerala's educational landscape, General Education Minister V Sivankutty met with Archbishop Thomas Tharayil of the Syro-Malabar Changanassery Archdiocese. Their meeting comes amid a standoff between the state government and Christian church managements over teacher appointments in aided schools, specifically those reserved for differently-abled candidates.

Sivankutty, joined by Kerala Congress (Mani) chairman Jose K Mani, described the gathering as a courtesy visit. He noted that many church managements, like the Archdiocese, want the state's recent Supreme Court ruling, which favored the Nair Service Society, to be applicable to them, allowing teacher appointments from the general category.

While Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan assures resolution through discussions slated for October 13, Archbishop Tharayil emphasized that the teacher issue affects more than just the Christian communities. The Archdiocese thanked political leaders for showing solidarity in pushing for a fair resolution while hoping for a favorable decision by the state government.

(With inputs from agencies.)