Kottayam: The Orthodox Church’s supreme head, Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, stated that the state government should not hesitate to extend to Christian communities the benefits of the court verdict that favoured the Nair Service Society (NSS) in the matter of appointments of differently-abled teachers.

He said the Church is concerned about the increasing marginalisation of Christians in the education sector. "What has been granted to the NSS should be extended to us as well. The government should issue a similar order," he demanded.

He was speaking to the media after an ecumenical conference of various Christian denominations in Kerala, held at the Pala Bishop House.

"If there is a denial of justice, the Church will stand united. The current decision taken by the government regarding differently-abled appointments is not reassuring. A similar order, as issued for the NSS, should be released for Christian managements as well," he said.

He also criticised the government, stating that the approach appears to be a deliberate overreach. The Church does not wish to resort to protests, but the government should act to avoid legal confrontation.

He further added that the Church views with concern the increasing discomfort faced by Christian institutions in recent times and mentioned the incident at the Palluruthy school as an example. The challenges faced by Christian educational institutions were among the key issues discussed at the meeting.

What’s at the heart of the dispute?

The issue concerns the state government's decision to prohibit general category appointments in aided schools when vacancies earmarked for differently abled candidates remain unfilled.

However, the NSS secured a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court permitting such appointments. Following this, other aided school managements also submitted similar requests to the state government, citing the apex court ruling.