Teachers accuse government of trying to bypass High Court order.

Source:- thehindu.com

Court says department-level tests mandatory for promotion

A section of qualified primary school teachers has accused the State government of trying to bypass a recent High Court (HC) order that made department-level tests mandatory for promotion as head teachers.

K.N. Anand, president of the Kerala Test Qualified Primary Teachers’ Union, told The Hindu on Sunday that efforts were on to retain unqualified head teachers.

Relaxation sought

The government had also approached the Centre seeking relaxation of the test qualification specified in rule 18(1) of the Kerala Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011, he alleged. The Right to Education Act stipulates that a teacher should have at least 12 years of experience and pass department-level tests along with an examination on the Kerala Education Act and Rules (KEAR).

The Act also gave three years for head teacher aspirants to pass the mandatory Account (lower) test, conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission, and a KEAR test. The Section 23 (2) of the Act allows relaxation of minimum qualification requirement for a period not exceeding five years if people with required qualification are not available in sufficient numbers.

A section of teachers had alleged that though the time limit was over, this was being extended forever, reportedly under pressure from influential teachers’ organisations affiliated to various political parties. The Kerala government in 2018 February issued an order making test qualification mandatory for promotion of teachers as head teachers.

However, the sub-rule (4) under 45 B in the KEAR contradicted that order as it permanently exempted a teacher aged 50 from passing the Account (lower) test, the teachers had alleged.

Indefinite exemption

Later, the Kerala Administrative Tribunal on February 25, 2019, put an end to the indefinite exemption, saying any executive order or circular from the government should not go against statutory rules.

The High Court, in its order on January 27, said that only persons who were test qualified “can be considered for promotion and be included for selection”.

The court also said that it “cannot agree with the tribunal’s order that there could be no exclusion of persons above 50 years of age who have no test qualification” . It pointed out that the tribunal had already held that granting exemption to teachers above 50 years from test qualifications “cannot be sustained in the teeth of Rule 18(1)”.

Unqualified teachers

The unqualified senior teachers would be entitled to appear for the test and acquire the test qualifications within three years.

On acquiring such qualification if any junior had been promoted earlier, within the three-year period, the senior who qualified within that period would be entitled to seek promotion as head teacher on the basis only of his/her subsequent qualification within the three-year period. In that circumstance the junior had to be reverted and the senior promoted as head teacher.