Pro-Left bodies to oppose Teachers Bank

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pro-Left teachers organisations will oppose the teacher’s bank proposed in the rehabilitation package for jobless teachers.Pro-CPM Kerala School Teachers Association  (KSTA) general secretary M Shajahan told ‘Express’ that the package would mean that these teachers would not be redeployed, but placed in a mechanism outside the schools.The organisations would take up the issue during the meeting with the cabinet sub-committee on Wednesday.  The cabinet sub-committee comprising Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb and Ministers Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, P J Joseph, T M Jacob, K Babu and K P Mohanan will hold separate meetings with representatives of teachers organisations and representatives of aided school managements on the day.Moreover, teachers’ bank would end the present system of protected teachers, Shajahan said.The system had extended job protection to all teachers who joined service prior to 1997.Of the over 1.6 lakh teachers in aided schools, 72,000 were appointed prior to 1997. This meant protection to over one-third of the teachers in aided schools, he said. The only positive aspect was that the Education Minister had promised that the teachers included in the bank would be paid salary, he said.The demand of KSTA is that the teachers should be redeployed in schools. Teachers should be attached to schools and not to offices like DEO offices and  AEO offices. The same was the case with specialist teachers, he said.The plan to use these teachers as temporary replacements to teachers going for training was not proper. They should be absorbed in vacancies arising in schools once 1:30 ratio is introduced in schools, he said.