Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty on Wednesday announced that the state government has decided to allow all aided schools to make appointments to vacant posts reserved for differently abled candidates. Addressing the media here, the minister said that the General Education Department has decided to approve the appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff who have been serving as temporary employees for a long period in posts reserved for the differently-abled.

Over 20,000 temporary teachers in aided schools are expected to benefit from the new order.

The government has also directed district-level education department officers to take immediate action to appoint eligible candidates to vacant posts reserved for differntly abled. 

Earlier, Sivankutty had stated in the Assembly that the government’s stance was to protect the rights of the differently abled while also addressing the problems faced by teachers from other categories.

The minister said that the government had sought legal advice from the Advocate General to implement the 2025 order issued by the Supreme Court. In its ruling, the apex court directed that appointments to posts reserved for differently abled candidates in aided schools be completed in a timely manner while considering a plea filed by the Nair Service Society (NSS). However, the court clarified that the order applies not only to NSS schools but also to similar institutions.

The division bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih also directed the state government to approve the appointments, made since 2021, of teachers and non-teaching staff who are not in the differently abled category in aided schools under the NSS.