Thiruvananthapuram: General Education Minister V Sivankutty has announced further relaxations regarding K-TET (Kerala Teacher Eligibility Test) qualifications, alongside the creation of additional teaching and non-teaching posts. The Minister detailed these decisions during a press conference on Sunday.

The decision to grant more concessions for teacher promotions is subject to the final judgement of a review petition filed by the government in the Supreme Court regarding K-TET.

Key concessions

In accordance with government standards, teaching and non-teaching staff in government/aided schools who are eligible for promotion or by-transfer appointments before September 1, 2025, will be granted temporary promotion/by-transfer appointments. This is on the condition that they acquire the required K-TET qualification for their respective categories within two years from September 1, 2025.

Those who already possess the K-TET qualification for their category can be promoted permanently. Since ministerial staff and lab assistants in the Higher Secondary section do not require K-TET, they will be considered for HSST/HSST (Junior) by-transfer promotions if they meet the other prescribed qualifications.

The Minister noted that the government conducted special examinations in 2024, 2025 and 2026 to help teachers gain qualifications well before the Supreme Court order. It has also been decided to conduct two examinations per year. "The government policy is that no serving teacher should lose their job," the Minister stated.

UID relaxations

Previously, an order was issued to consider students with only an Enrollment Identification Number (EID) and those who submitted a valid UID by July 14, 2025, for post-fixation (staffing strength). To protect more teaching positions, the government has now extended this deadline; students who submit a valid UID by August 20, 2026, will also be considered for post-fixation.

Job Protection since 2015-16

In aided schools, staff appointed with approval before March 31, 2015, were protected via the "Teacher Bank" if they lost their posts due to a reduction in student numbers. However, those appointed after this date did not have this benefit and faced termination without financial benefits.

The Cabinet has now decided to extend this protection to those appointed between June 1, 2015, and March 31, 2022. A government order will be issued shortly. This will directly benefit 242 teachers currently out of service (allowing them to rejoin) and indirectly benefit approximately 30,000 teachers.

Staffing strength for 2025-26

The government has completed the post-fixation process for the 2025-26 academic year. Based on the Director of General Education's recommendations, the Cabinet has sanctioned 1,857 additional teaching and non-teaching posts:

  • Government Schools: 665 posts
  • Aided Schools: 1,202 posts
  • Total: 1,857 posts

These posts will come into effect from October 1, 2025, for one academic year. Following redeployment procedures, it is expected that approximately 500 vacancies will be reported to the PSC immediately.

Revised Kerala Education Rules (KER)

A revised edition of the KER, incorporating all amendments up to February 2026, will be published. This is the first update since 2010. A Malayalam version will also be released. The print version is expected within a month.

St Ressallos School, Wayanad

The Cabinet decided to create seven permanent posts (including HSST Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Computer Science) at St Ressallos Speech and Hearing HSS in Wayanad, effective from the 2026-27 academic year. This is the only Higher Secondary school for hearing and speech-impaired children in the district.