Kerala govt to write to PM over pending Samagra Shiksha funds

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Central funds to the tune of over Rs 1,148 crore to Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) pending, the general education department has decided to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the acute shortage. The government will also look to get the PMs appointment to inform him about the challenges faced by the states education sector, General Education Minister V Sivankutty told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. The government is planning a state-level convention to evaluate the crises faced by the sector due to the fund crunch, Sivankutty said. The state provides salaries to 6,817 SSK staff a monthly expenditure of `20 crore. The government also provides money for the textbooks, uniforms and hostels for students. On the recent SC order to make the Teachers Eligibility Test mandatory for all school teachers, Sivankutty said the state will file a review petition or seek clarity on this. Close to 50,000 teachers, many of them with two to three decades of experiences, will be affected by the new rule, he said. As per the court order, teachers with five years of experience before the issue of the order have to pass the TET exam within 2 years. This will not just affect the teachers jobs, but every move in the education sector. To overcome this, the Centre should draft a law, Sivankutty said.