Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has sanctioned the creation of 2,219 teaching and non-teaching posts across 1,210 government and aided schools in Kerala. However, the possibility of new appointments remains slim, as the administration has directed that protected employees—those who previously lost positions—be reappointed before considering new hires. However, the government does not yet possess precise data on the number of such staff.

The new posts were sanctioned based on staff fixation carried out during the previous academic year. Malappuram district, however, has been excluded from this announcement due to the electoral code of conduct in place for the Nilambur Assembly byelection.
Out of the sanctioned positions, 915 have been allotted to 552 government schools, while 1,304 posts are designated for 658 aided institutions. The approval is effective retrospectively from October 1 last year.

Although priority has been given to reinstating protected staff, the government has not clarified how many posts were cut during the last academic cycle. Around 3,764 posts were lost in the year before. As protected employees will occupy various roles after redesignating, the scope for new appointments is expected to remain limited.
Meanwhile, education officers and treasury officials have been instructed to ensure that no individual remains in eliminated seats or draws an unauthorised salary.

No hires in previous academic year
In August last year, the government had similarly sanctioned 2,325 posts following the staff fixation for 2023–24. Among them, 957 posts were in government schools. However, these vacancies were not reported to the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC). According to General Education Minister V Sivankutty, such posts would be sent to the PSC only after confirming their validity in the 2024–25 academic year. As a result, no new appointments were made last year based on the staff structure for 2023–24. It also remains unclear whether aided schools filled any of their allotted vacancies. Public schools in Kerala continue to lose posts annually due to declining student enrolment.