Cancel 85 posts sanctioned to institutions under SN Trust, Kerala CM urged

T’puram: Save Education Campaign Committee (SUCC) has urged chief minister V D Satheesan to revoke the previous LDF govt’s decision to sanction 85 teaching posts to various institutions under the SN Trust management. The committee said the posts were sanctioned in violation of norms.

“As per the existing rules, teaching posts in colleges are to be sanctioned based on the student strength of the previous academic year. However, the previous LDF govt reportedly sanctioned these 85 posts on the basis of student admissions and workload of the year 2022 instead of the student strength prevailing during previous year of sanctioning. It is further understood that the then higher education minister conducted a special adalat and directly granted these posts bypassing the existing rules followed for assessing staff strength. It is important to note that after 2022, there has been a significant decline in student admissions in colleges across the state,” the committee said.

At the same time, the previous LDF govt did not sanction comparable new teaching posts in govt colleges, and many candidates included in existing PSC rank lists are still awaiting appointment. In such circumstances, the decision of the previous govt to sanction 85 additional posts exclusively to one management has caused serious concern among PSC candidates, students, teachers, and the public, SUCC said. It is also understood that the sanctioning of these posts by the previous govt may create an additional annual financial liability of nearly Rs 15 crore to the state exchequer.