Disability quota not practical, schools forum says

A section of heads of assisted primary schools claimed that the 4 per cent reservation for people with disabilities will prove to be a challenge for those running single schools.

In a recent memorandum to the Minister of General Education, V. Sivankutty, officials from the Kerala Aided (Primary) School Managers Association (KASMA) pointed out that the Ministry of Education had issued an order making the quota compulsory for schools aided only in November last year.

According to the order, one of the 25 named should have a different ability. Over the past 50 years, the majority of grant-aided primary schools have failed to appoint 25 teachers. Even 50 people have not been appointed in most of the schools which are around 100 years old, KASMA President PS Sasikumar said in the memorandum.

Reservation

The three per cent reservation was compulsory for them under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunity, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995, from 7 February 1996. Under the Disabilities Act 2016 rights of persons with disabilities, the quota was increased to 4% from April 19, 2017, with retroactive effect.

It was KASMA officials who opposed the Kerala High Court’s stay order on appointments in aided schools last year. In an order dated September 6, 2021, the director of public instruction had sought to rescind all appointments in assisted schools made before July 15, 2021, before September 24. The court suspended this order after the Kerala Federation of the Blind filed a petition alleging that the 4% quota for persons with disabilities had not been enforced. That put 2,883 nominations across the state in limbo. The High Court later quashed the stay.

Organizations representing people with disabilities had demanded that they be given the first reserved post. In a large majority of primary schools, there are only four posts. If the first position is awarded within the quota, the reservation percentage will go up to 25. Principals claimed that there were many schools in the state that were established before the education rules were formulated from Kerala. There are fewer than 25 teachers in these schools, they added.

There are only about 500 qualified candidates who deserve to be appointed under the disability quota, KASMA said, adding that the majority of them had already secured employment. The state government has not issued any guidelines for appointing people with disabilities and the Department of Social Justice has not conducted any studies on the issue, he said.

KASMA leaders claimed that the Department of Education issued the order to implement the reservations with retroactive effect on November 11 only after the High Court stay order. The Message Waiting assessment process did not begin until December.