Catholic Congress slams Education Minister over appointments in aided schools

The Catholic Congress on Saturday criticised Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty over his handling of appointments for differently abled candidates to teaching and non-teaching posts in aided schools across Kerala.

Earlier, the Changanassery and Kothamangalam dioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church and the Church of South India (CSI) had also objected to the Minister’s statement in the Assembly that a recent Supreme Court verdict on appointments in Nair Service Society (NSS) schools did not apply to Christian-aided institutions.

In a statement, the Catholic Congress said Mr. Sivankutty’s remarks were “provocative and condemnable,” calling them an “insult” to the minority community. The Minister evading livelihood issues of voiceless citizens in the name of religion and caste is a challenge to minority and neglected groups.

The statement said that when minority school managements came forward to provide jobs to differently abled persons, citing legal complexities, the government stopped other appointments. This is highly condemnable, it said.

The organisation accused the government of “playing divisive politics” for “political gains” instead of considering the concerns of Christian minorities.

“A responsible government is expected to act with fairness and sensitivity,” it added, demanding action to prevent the issue from escalating.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sivankutty said the government was implementing differently abled reservation strictly in line with court orders. “The State government is bound to follow the Supreme Court and High Court rulings on this matter,” he said, stressing that the government worked in the interest of all communities, not any single group.

The Minister said school managements must also fulfil their responsibilities and pointed out that critics should examine whether managements had acted responsibly in legal disputes over the past four years. He said the Chief Minister had already intervened and forwarded complaints to the relevant authorities.

“The government is open to reviewing complaints, seeking fresh legal advice from the Advocate General if required, and holding discussions with stakeholders,” Mr. Sivankutty added.