THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when the state finance department has come under the scanner over the masala bonds issued by its Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), it has brought joy to scores of current students, teachers and other staff of Sainik School Kazhakootam and also to thousands of former students who had passed out from the prestigious institution.
The finance department has agreed to help the school’s running with effect from April 1, 2021 to avoid insolvency. The agreement is that the ownership of the land will remain with the school under the state government.
Though this is a partial win for the SSK authorities, the finance department is hesitant to take up the pension expenses of the staff who have now urged Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac to reconsider the issue.
TNIE had reported on October 12 that the school is on the brink of insolvency as its budget deficit has been increasing steadily since 2012 which has led the students, school authorities and the Old Boys Association (OBA) to seek the state government’s help.
On October 24, TNIE again reported that Isaac had rejected the proposal to take over the burden of pensions and retirement benefits of the employees. This led students and members of OBA to start a social media campaign to save their school from insolvency.
As per the letter addressed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the finance department has agreed to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with effect from the next fiscal year subject to two conditions. The ownership of the school’s land shall remain with the school under the state government and that the pension expenses will not be borne by it.
A top official of SSK told TNIE that this is only a partial victory and they are awaiting further directions from the state government. He also added that closure of the school will be a loss for the state in future as the number of Malayali officers in the armed forces will come down by around 50 per cent.
“The Kerala government cannot pass the buck to the Centre on the pension issue as the latter has already done its bit by appointing top officials comprising the principal, vice-principal, headmaster, registrar and an administrative officer who have all been deputed from the military. It is not the matter of education alone. The state will end up losing a prestigious institution when the mantra is to catch the students young and groom them to become dedicated and committed officers in the second largest military force in the world,” said a top SSK official.
Lt-General Cherish Mathson, who was the 9th General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Jaipur-based Sapta Shakti Command, who has been relentlessly fighting for his alma mater, expressed happiness at the state government’s new gesture.
“I request the state government to reconsider the pension issue. By 2035, the pension burden will be over as the new contributory pension scheme has been applicable for employees since 2004,” said Lt-Gen Mathson who is an advisor to RAW.
Positive impact
TNIE had reported on October 12 that the school is on the brink of insolvency as its budget deficit has been increasing steadily since 2012. On October 24, TNIE again reported that Isaac had rejected the proposal to take over the burden of pensions of the employees. This led the students to start a social media campaign to save the school from insolvency.