Latest news with #KeralaEducationRules
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- New Indian Express
Kerala to take strict action in Thevalakkara student electrocution death case; family to get house, aid
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Department of General Education will take strong action in the incident where Midhun, a Class 8 student of Thevalakkara Boys High School in Kollam, allegedly died after being electrocuted on campus, said Minister V Sivankutty. The decision comes after the department received a detailed report from the Director of General Education. The minister announced a series of steps to ensure accountability and prevent similar tragedies in the future. The school headmistress will be suspended with immediate effect. A show-cause notice will be issued to the school management for allegedly failing to act on safety lapses. The management has been asked to respond within three days. The Additional Educational Officer who was in charge of the school at the time will be asked to provide an explanation. Since the District Educational Officer of Kollam had retired when the academic year began, AEO Antony Peter had been given the DEO's additional charge. The department will use powers under Rule 7 of Chapter 3 of the Kerala Education Rules to take further action against the management if necessary. The minister also urged the management to seriously consider providing financial assistance to Midhun's family.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Samastha proposes holiday cuts, shift change
Kozhikode: Samastha said it will present alternative proposals before general education minister V Sivankutty when he meets its representatives to discuss the ongoing controversy over revised school timings. Samastha will ask him to extend school hours till 4.30pm instead of starting classes 15 minutes earlier in the morning. Samastha is likely to argue that this would be a more practical adjustment. At present, under the revised schedule, schools function from 9.45am to 4.15pm with 15 more minutes added in the morning and evening sessions. Sources said that if this is not acceptable to the govt, Samastha will ask it to reduce the number of holidays granted for festivals or readjust the annual vacation to ensure that the mandatory 1100 academic working hours are met. Earlier, Sivankutty had contacted Samastha president Syed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, expressing willingness to hold discussions. But he also made it clear that the govt will not change the new timings. But IUML questioned the purpose of the upcoming meeting with the minister saying that the govt's firm stand left no room for a dialogue. "What is the relevance of such a meeting when the minister has declared that there won't be a change in school timings," asked IUML state general secretary PMA Salam. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo On Tuesday, Samastha's joint coordination committee and its affiliated organizations had decided to intensify protests if the govt did not take a favourable action on its school timings demand. In June, govt had issued an order extending the timings of Classes VIII to X in govt, aided and unaided schools under the state syllabus by 15 minutes in morning and afternoon sessions, except Fridays. The change was incorporated to meet the target of 220 working days and ensure 1100 instructional hours as stipulated by the Right to Education Act and Kerala Education Rules.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Time of India
Aided schools vow legal fight over UID requirement
Kochi: Though Supreme Court had ruled several times that Aadhaar is not mandatory for school admissions, Kerala Education Rules still require a UID (unique identification number) for entry into aided schools. This has created major hurdles for school managements and students in some parts of Kerala. Typically Aadhaar is used as UID. Many students could not provide their UIDs during the admission process in June, making their enrolment technically invalid. Schools have taken legal action as the issue also affects their ability to appoint teachers. As part of the admissions process, parents must upload student details, including UID, on Sampoorna portal. KITE (Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education), which comes under the general education department, manages the portal. This must be done before the sixth working day of the academic year. If not, the student is left out of the official enrolment count, which in turn affects staff fixation. At St Antony's LP School in Mala, Thrissur all three students who were admitted to Class I were unable to furnish their UIDs. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Upto 15% Discount for Salaried Individuals ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan Get Quote Undo As a result, the school technically lost its Class I and the associated teacher's post. "The situation is that, technically, the school does not have a Class 1 division and is unable to appoint a teacher to teach students, which is against the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution," said school manager Antony Davies. An official order from the assistant educational officer, Mala, dated July 15, confirmed the issue. Although the school had approached HC's single bench, the petition was dismissed. The court observed that the state govt, while giving grant-in-aid, was justified in asking for students' UIDs to prevent duplication and bogus admissions and found no illegality in the action. The case is now before a division bench, which on June 30 directed the govt pleader to file a counter-affidavit within three weeks. A similar issue occurred at SNVUPS Moolamkudam near Mattathur, Thrissur. Although the school had enough enrolment to start two Class 1 divisions, it was denied permission because four students did not submit their UIDs before the deadline. "These students had applied for Aadhaar and three of them received it, but it arrived after the sixth working day," said Binesh EP, a teacher. The school has also taken the matter to court. This UID requirement (Aadhaar for students) goes against the SC's landmark KS Puttaswamy judgment, which stated that school admissions do not fall under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act. Schools say the Kerala govt's rule linking Aadhaar to staff fixation breaks this ruling and harms students' education. Davies said the Union ministry of education's unified district information system for education plus data capture format for the 2025–26 academic year clearly showed that Aadhaar number field is not mandatory. He said this highlights the arbitrary nature of Kerala's policy. TOI tried to contact director general of education S Shanavas for a response but was unsuccessful.
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Additional school hours: Samastha to offer practical suggestions during talks with govt.
Sunni scholars' forum Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama and its affiliate organisations have said they will offer practical suggestions related to the additional instructional hours being implemented in State syllabus schools. This was decided at a meeting held here on Tuesday. The Samastha had opposed the additional working hours for Classes VIII to X, 15 minutes each in the morning and afternoon on all days except Fridays, saying it would affect students who attend 'madrasa' classes early in the morning. Its leaders told the media on Tuesday that if there was no positive response to their suggestions during the proposed talks with Education department officials, protests would be intensified against the government. The Samastha functionaries pointed out that there had been no response to a memorandum submitted by the organisation ahead of the implementation of the new timings. No talks were held either. The Samastha Kerala Madrasa Management Association subsequently declared that it would hold protests against the government across the State. However, General Education Minister V. Sivankutty spoke to Samastha president Syed Mohammed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal over phone on July 14 and expressed the government's willingness to hold talks on the issue. M.T. Abdulla Musliyar, general secretary, Samastha Islam Religious Education Board, said that practical suggestions would be put forward during the talks. 'If there is no positive response, all Samastha-affiliated organisations will jointly organise intensified protests. There is no going back on this. The government should take the people into confidence while taking decisions. Religion is a form of education and vice-versa. Religious education is a crucial component of Islam, it cannot be set aside,' he said. The new timings were implemented to realise the target of 220 working days and 1,100 instructional hours for Class VIII as per the Right to Education Act and for Classes IX and X as per the Kerala Education Rules. Samastha secretary Umar Faizy Mukkom, central 'mushawara' member Bahauddin Nadwi, among others, were present at the press meet.
The Hindu
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Government ready to clear doubts regarding revised timing in high schools: V. Sivankutty
The State government is prepared to clear any doubts related to the revised high school working hours in the 2025-2026 academic calendar, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said. Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr. Sivankutty said the current objections against the time revision were suspicious given that similar revisions in the past were not met with protests or disputes. There is a misconception that the revision applies to all classes from Classes I to Class X. On the contrary, the increase of 15 minutes each in the morning and afternoon sessions (9.45 a.m. to 4.15 p.m.) applies only to high schools. Organisations such as the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama had expressed concerns that the revised schedule would affect madrassa education. Mr. Sivankutty said on Sunday that the sections now criticising the time revision raised no objection when the higher secondary schools timings were revised from 9.30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. during the United Democratic Front rule in 2014. The State government had constituted a five-member expert panel in January 2025 to study issues related to the academic calendar. In publishing the academic calendar, the State government only sought to ensure academic standards in school education and to guarantee the required 220 working days and 1,100 instructional hours, excluding examination days, as required by the Kerala Education Rules, Mr. Sivankutty said. To compare, Gujarat has 243 days, Uttar Pradesh 233, Karnataka 244 days, Andhra Pradesh 233 days and Delhi 220 days.
