By Jose K. Mani
Copyright thehindu
With political parties in central Travancore gearing up for the upcoming local body elections, the political discourse in the region is pivoting back to the long-standing crisis in aided schools sector.
School managements, especially the Catholic Church, have strongly opposed the Left Democratic Front (LDF) over handling appointments for differently abled candidates in aided schools, even voicing displeasure through an editorial in Deepika warning that unresolved grievances of teachers and Asha workers could spark protests against the government.
Building on this momentum, the Kerala Congress has announced a sit-in protest in front of the Secretariat on Tuesday (October 7), urging the LDF government to consider its resolution presented in the Legislative Assembly on the issue. “It is a matter of concern that the State government and its Ministers have adopted a hostile stance, issuing statements against Christian church leaders who have raised their voices for aided schools under different managements,” said Mons Joseph MLA, executive chairman of the Kerala Congress.
SC directive
Stressing that Education Minister V Sivankutty is mistaken in claiming that only Christian-managed schools face this crisis, he pointed out that the issue equally affects schools managed by Muslim community, Devaswom Board-run schools, and single-management schools. Taking a cue from the Catholic Church leadership, Mr. Joseph too criticised the LDF government for failing to extend the Supreme Court’s favourable ruling on teacher recruitment to other minority-aided schools, including those under Christian management.
The sudden escalation of the dispute has placed Kerala Congress (M), led by Jose K. Mani, an ally of the ruling front, on damage-control mode. The party has now publicly assured that a solution will be found at the earliest.
“If further discussions are required between the Christian churches and the government, KC(M) will take the initiative. As party chairman, I have already raised this matter with both the Chief Minister and the Education Minister. The LDF will collectively discuss, decide, and implement a formula to resolve the problem without delay,” said Mr. Mani.
Recently, a KC(M) delegation led by Minister Roshy Augustine met the Chief Minister and the Education Minister to outline their concerns. However, the sudden escalation of the dispute afterwards, which quickly turning into a war of words between the Catholic Church leadership and Education Minister V. Sivankutty, appears to have caught the party off guard.