Thousands of government school teachers in the State have sought the repeal of what they termed as an obsolete executive order of 1965 that nullifies their years of service for promotion once they get inter-district transfer.
In a memorandum submitted to V. Sivankutty, Minister for General Education, a collective of these teachers said that the order was issued at a time when there was a scarcity of trained teachers in north Kerala as well as districts such as Idukki and Wayanad. Teachers from other districts were appointed in these places. Functioning of schools was affected after they managed to get transfers to their home districts allegedly using political influence.
The executive order was issued by officials on May 28, 1965, making it clear that teachers getting a job in schools in other districts could seek a transfer to their home districts only after five years of service there. Such teachers will also become the junior most once they join a school in their home district. This happened at a time when President’s rule was in force in the State.
The teachers pointed out that earlier there was no practice of calling for applications for same posts from all districts or even simultaneous calling for applications from all districts. People could send in applications only once in five or six years. This also led to trained teachers looking for opportunities in other districts.
The teachers said that though they were eligible to apply for transfers after five years, they would get it only after 15-20 years as only a few among them were transferred in a year. Those with even 15 to 20 years experience are reduced to the level of juniors once they get inter-district transfer to their home districts. If there is a fall in the number of students in the school, leading to a reduction in the number of divisions, these teachers will have to be transferred to other schools. If there are no posts in other schools, they will eventually lose their jobs. The collective pointed out that even teachers in government-aided schools are not facing this situation as they are protected from job loss.
The teachers pointed out that denying promotion to teachers based on an old order was against the principles of equality enshrined in the Constitution and urged the government to repeal it.