The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Director of Public Instructions to file an affidavit regarding the payment of revised salary for pre-primary teachers and helpers (Ayas) in government schools.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan and Justice B P Ray issued the order while considering a petition filed by the Kerala Pre-Primary Teachers and Ayas Association and others seeking a directive to comply with an earlier order of the High Court.
The court had held that the state should pay a minimum salary of `5,000 and ` 3,500,respectively, to the teachers and helpers.
The court held that the DPI is required to provide the list of 2,436 teachers and 1,896 helpers and directed to mention the specific date on which each of them was paid the amount according to the judgment passed on August 1, 2012.
The court observed that, with the much-touted IT-enabled administration, the information can be made available to the court in less than two weeks. Otherwise, there is no meaning in saying that we are going through an era of e-governance, the court said.
The court while directing the DPI to file the affidavit before November 8, ordered that if it was not filed by the date, the DPI should personally be present on November 13. The court also held that the pre- primary teachers and ‘ayahs’ who were in service as on August 1,2012, were entitled to get a minimum salary of `5,000 and `3,500 respectively, irrespective of qualification, student- teacher ratio and mode of recruitment.
Abraham Vakkanal, counsel for the association, contended that, in spite of the fact that no restrictions had been imposed for payment in the judgment hiking the salary, the government in an order issued on December 7, 2012, laid down the condition that those who had passed Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and Pre-Primary Teacher course from Govt/recognised institutions alone would be qualified for payments.
The order to hike the salary was later confirmed by the Supreme Court. But the apex court didn’t specify any qualification criteria.
If the headmaster or headmistress of a government school had certified that a teacher had been in service from August 1, 2012, such teachers should be paid the revised salaries, the court ordered.