Kerala grants temporary pay relief to 20,000 teachers after SC K-TET ruling
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala government has decided to grant temporary pay-scale approval to nearly 20,000 teachers affected by a recent Supreme Court verdict mandating K-TET qualification, Minister V Sivankutty said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference, Sivankutty said that under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, passing the Kerala Teacher Eligibility Test (K-TET) is mandatory for teachers.
However, the state had earlier exempted those appointed before 2012, citing concerns that sudden enforcement would adversely affect them.
On September 1, 2025, the Supreme Court of India struck down the exemption and directed that teachers without K-TET qualification be removed from service, he said.
The state general education minister said the verdict impacted nearly 20,000 teachers and their families. “While implementing the court order, the government has found a way to protect teachers,” he added.
As per the apex court’s ruling, teachers have been given two years to clear the K-TET examination. Sivankutty said requiring them to work without pay during this period would be unjust.
Accordingly, the government has decided to grant temporary pay-scale approval to teachers appointed before September 1, 2025, on the condition that they clear K-TET within two years.
The benefit will also extend to those holding equivalent qualifications such as NET, SET, M Phil and Ph D, he said.
A decision on promotions for such teachers will be taken after seeking legal advice from the Advocate General, he added.
In a related development, the minister said the government has decided to revisit staff fixation in schools where discrepancies in Aadhaar-linked student data had led to the loss of teaching posts.
He said Aadhaar had been made mandatory to ensure accurate student enrolment data. However, minor errors in Aadhaar details or delays in issuance had resulted in some students not being counted, leading to a reduction in posts and job losses for teachers.
“Not a single teacher should lose their job due to lack of Aadhaar,” the minister said.
The government has now ordered re-fixation of posts by including students who had applied for Aadhaar (with EID) or sought correction of errors up to July 14, 2025.
The move is expected to facilitate the reinstatement of several teachers who lost their jobs due to technical discrepancies, he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
21 Congress MLAs leave for foreign tour ahead of budget; leaders say trip is personal
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 21 Congress legislators in Karnataka left for a foreign tour ahead of the state budget on Wednesday, as a power tussle continues within the ruling party.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to present a record 17th budget on March 6, soon after the legislative session begins. The session will continue until March 27.
It is learnt that the MLAs travelling abroad are considered loyal to the CM.
According to Congress sources, 11 MLAs flew out on Tuesday, while 10 others are scheduled to leave for various foreign destinations with their families.
Sources said C Puttaranga Shetty, B Devendrappa, H D Thammaiah, Hampanagouda Badarli, B M Nagaraj, A Vasanth Kumar, D Thimmaiah and Sharanagouda Patil Bayyapur are among those travelling abroad.
The legislators are touring Australia and New Zealand. They will first fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then continue their journey to Australia and New Zealand, sources added.
The MLAs clarified that the trip is personal and has nothing to do with the party or the government.
"We are going on a private tour. It’s just my family and me," Thammaiah told reporters at the Kempegowda International Airport here.
The Chikkamagaluru MLA said the decision had been taken during the Belagavi legislative session.
"Those interested in the tour are travelling. We often go abroad, but this is the first time it has made news," Thammaiah said.
Badarli sought to clarify that all the MLAs were funding the tour themselves and that it had nothing to do with politics.
"We travel abroad two or three times. Earlier, we visited Muscat, European countries and the United States," he said.
Puttaranga Shetty said the MLAs would return on March 2 or 3.
Responding to suggestions that those travelling belonged to Siddaramaiah’s camp, Shetty said, "The CM is not aware of our trip. Why drag his name into this unnecessarily?"
MLAs considered close to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said there was nothing unusual about "common friends travelling abroad together."
"We too have travelled abroad. What is wrong with that? I was not invited. Our team is different from theirs, but it is not factionalism," MLA H C Balakrishna said.
MLA Ravi Ganiga said no one could remove the incumbent or change the government merely because of a foreign tour, adding that the Congress high command takes appropriate decisions at the right time.
