Thiruvananthapuram: School teacher recruitment in Kerala through the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) has witnessed a sharp decline. The candidates included in the LP (Lower Primary) teacher rank list have not been issued appointment orders, even several months after recommendations were made. Even after the UP (Upper Primary) school teacher rank list came into effect for four months, top-ranked candidates are awaiting appointment.

The slowdown is largely due to the Education Department’s position that no new vacancies can be reported until the determination of the post is completed.

The rank list for high school and higher secondary teacher posts is only valid for a few months. Only half of the appointments have been made in this list compared to the previous rank lists. There has been a stagnation in teacher recruitment after the start of the new academic year.

So far, 260 candidates in the LP category across 14 districts have received appointment recommendations. However, many are still awaiting formal appointment orders. In several cases, officials have stated that vacancies ceased to exist following post determination, despite earlier recommendations being issued.

In Alappuzha, Idukki, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Wayanad and Kannur districts, appointment recommendations in the LP category were reportedly limited to just one digit.

From the UP Teachers’ Rank List, only 27 candidates across 11 districts have received appointment recommendations to fill backlog vacancies reserved for differently-abled persons. No recommendations have been issued in Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki and Thrissur districts. No new vacancies have been reported in this category since the rank list came into force.

In the high school category, rank lists are available for six subjects, excluding Physical Science. The notification for Physical Science was not issued due to an eligibility dispute currently under judicial consideration.

Over the past three years, 2,843 candidates have received appointment recommendations across the remaining subjects. In earlier cycles, between 4,000 and 6,000 appointments were typically made during a similar period.