Kottayam: Changanassery Archbishop Thomas Tharayil has accused Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty of reneging on assurances given to Christian educational managements regarding teacher appointments in aided schools. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Archbishop expressed disappointment over the government’s stance, stating that the recent Supreme Court verdict allowing appointments in Nair Service Society (NSS) schools should equally apply to Christian-aided institutions, a position rejected by the minister.

Tharayil questioned why the government was obstructing general category appointments in Christian-run aided schools by claiming the apex court’s decision was limited to NSS schools. “I do not know why the government is taking this stand. I and several others met Sivankutty a year ago and submitted our requests. He agreed to consider them. Has he forgotten what he said back then?” he asked.

His comments follow the minister’s statement on Tuesday, in which he cautioned aided school managements against misleading the public about appointments of differently-abled candidates to teaching and non-teaching posts. Sivankutty noted that only a few managements had reported vacancies and urged others to clarify why posts remain unfilled. He added that the General Education Department will investigate unreported vacancies and identify those “deliberately withholding such information,” warning of further action.

With inputs from PTI