[18th
April 2022] In exercise of the powers
conferred by section 36 of the Kerala Education Act, 1958 (6 of 1959), the
Government of Kerala hereby make the following rules further to amend the
Kerala Education Rules, 1959, namely:- (1)
These rules may be called the Kerala
Education (Amendment) Rules, 2022. (2)
They shall come into force at once. (1)
in Chapter III, in rule 9, sub-rule (6) shall
be omitted. (2)
in Chapter VI, (a)
in rule 15,- (i)
in item (iii), the following Note shall be
inserted, namely:- "Note:-The teacher in
charge of a class in standard IX and X shall report the details of such
absentees to the Headmaster or Headmistress or Vice- Principal, as the case may
be, so as to remove them from the rolls under these rules."; (ii)
after rule 15, the following rule shall be
inserted, namely:- "15A.
The teacher in charge of a class in standard I to VIII shall report the details
of pupils who has been absent without leave for fifteen working days
consecutively or who has been continuously absent for five working days from
the re-opening day to the Headmaster or Headmistress or Vice-Principal, as the
case may be. The Headmaster or Headmistress or Vice-Principal, as the case may
be, shall take immediate follow up actions in consultation with the local
authority in terms of section 9 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2009 (Central Act 35 of 2009)."; (b)
in rule 23, in the opening sentence, after
the words "The maximum strength of a class division", the words and
figures "in standards IX and X" shall be inserted. (c)
after rule 23, the following rule shall be
inserted, namely:- "23A.
Teacher-Pupil ratio-The teacher-pupil ratio for standards I to VIII shall be as
specified in the SCHEDULE to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2009 (Central Act 35 of 2009).". (3)
in Chapter VII, in rule 6, after sub-rule
(1), the following Note shall be inserted, namely:- "Note:-The teacher in
charge of a class shall mark the attendance of the physically present pupils
properly. If forged attendance is detected, the teacher in charge of that class
shall be held personally responsible.". (4)
in Chapter XIV A- (a)
in rule 1, in sub-rule (1), for the words
"for reporting the vacancies to the Government for ascertaining the
availability of qualified hand and for filling up vacancy notified by the
Government1, the words "for ascertaining the availability of qualified
hand and for filling up vacancy." shall be substituted; (b)
in rule 8,- (i)
in sub-rule (1), for the opening sentence,
the following sentence shall be substituted, namely:- "The appointment order
signed by the Manager and the teacher along with other documents, as required
by the Director, from time to time, shall be submitted by the Manager to the
Educational Officer for approval through SAMANWAYA, the web portal provided by
the Department of General Education for the purpose of approval of appointments
and fixation of the staff strength in the schools, within fifteen days from the
date of joining duty of the appointee in the manner prescribed by the
Director."; (ii)
in sub-rule (2),- (a)
after the words "may approve the
appointment" the words and symbols "through SAMANWAYA" shall be
inserted; (b)
for the words "one copy shall be
forwarded by the Educational Officer to the teacher through the Manager and
another copy forwarded to the Manager to be filed in the school records."
the words "one copy shall be forwarded by the Educational Officer to the Manager
and four copies to the Headmaster or Headmistress or Vice-Principal, as the
case may be, so as to give a copy to the teacher and the remaining copies for
various official purposes." shall be substituted; (iii)
after sub-rule (2), the following proviso shall
be inserted, namely:- "Provided that the
additional posts sanctioned in terms of sub-rule (6) of rule 12 of Chapter
XXIII shall be filled up only in terms of sub-rule (2) of rule 7 of Chapter
XXI."; (iv)
in rule 51 A, the third proviso shall be
omitted. (5)
in Chapter XV, rule 21 shall be omitted. (6)
in Chapter XXI, rules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
shall be omitted. (7)
in Chapter XXIII- (a)
in rule 12,(i) for sub-rule (1), the
following sub-rule shall be substituted, namely:- "(i)
Fixation of Staff Strength-Subject to
the availability of accommodation, the strength of teaching staff in each
school shall be fixed and orders shall be issued by the Educational Officer
through SAMANWAYA in accordance with the above general provisions and the rules
hereunder, by 15th July of each year, after finalizing the number of divisions
in each class based on the strength of pupils on the roll having Unique
Identification Number (UID) as on the sixth working day from the reopening day
in June. The Unique Identification Number (UID) strength shall be taken from
Sampoorna, the school management system, provided by the Department of General
Education."; (ii)
in sub-rule (2), after the word and
figures "rule 23" the words, figures and letter "and rule
23A" shall be inserted; (iii)
after sub-rule (2), the following
sub-rules shall be inserted, namely:- "(3)
The orders of staff fixation except in
the case of additional divisions or additional posts, shall take effect on the
15th July of every year. Date of effect of the additional divisions or additional
posts sanctioned shall be the 1st October of the year. Ordinarily the strength
of staff sanctioned for a year shall have effect till the 14th July of the
succeeding year provided the divisions or posts sanctioned in it are not
reduced in terms of sub-rule (8). (4) In a school where additional division or
additional posts are found necessary, the Educational Officer shall make a
surprise visit to the school and conduct a preliminary verification so as to
ascertain the genuineness of the pupils strength by checking the entire details
of both the pupils present and absent on that day with their Unique
Identification Number (UID) and other school records. On such verification, if
the requirement for additional division or additional post is found on valid
grounds, the details on it shall be submitted to the Director on or before the
15th July of each year through web portal SAMANWAYA for getting its sanction
from the Government. The submission of details through SAMANWAYA shall also be
duly recorded in the staff fixation order. (5) On receipt of the details regarding the
additional divisions and additional posts as specified in sub-rule (4), the
Director shall conduct a detailed verification on the spot on such details
through the Super Check Officer or any other authority as decided by the
Government. Thereafter the Director shall submit the details along with an
affidavit of on the spot verification and due recommendation to the Government
through web portal SAMANWAYA on or before the 31st August of the year. (6) On the strength of the affidavit of on the
spot verification and the recommendation of the Director and on the basis of
further verification, if necessary, the Government shall issue orders by
sanctioning the additional divisions or posts through web portal SAMANWAYA, if
admissible or order otherwise, if inadmissible. Such order shall be passed by
the 30th September of the year. Thereupon, the Educational Officer shall revise
the staff fixation order accordingly. Date of effect of the additional
divisions or additional posts so sanctioned shall be as prescribed under
sub-rule (3). (7) The Manager or the affected parties shall have
a right to apply for the review of the order passed by the Government in terms
of sub-rule (6) within 30 days from the date of the order. (8) Notwithstanding anything contained in these
rules, if a fall in the pupils strength occurs on the rolls of a school at any
time till 31st January of the year, which is found sufficient to affect the
number of divisions or posts sanctioned, the Headmaster or Headmistress or
Vice-Principal shall report the fact to the Educational Officer at once through
the web portal SAMANWAYA. The Educational Officer, on verification of the
report, if found sufficient reasons to reduce the class, division or post,
shall revise the staff fixation order accordingly within twenty days from the
date of receipt of the report of the Headmaster or Headmistress or
Vice-Principal: Provided that no order under
this rule shall be issued without notice to the parties who are likely to be
affected thereby. The reduction of divisions or posts shall have effect. only
from the date of order of the Educational Officer. The appeal provision laid
down under rule 12 D is applicable against the revised order."; (b)
in rule 12C- (i)
in sub-rule (1), in the opening sentence,
after the words "in Primary Schools" the words and symbols
"through web portal SAMANWAYA" shall be inserted; (ii)
in sub-rule (2), in the opening sentence,
after the words "Training Schools" the words and symbols
"through SAMANWAYA" shall be inserted; (c)
in rule 12 D, the proviso to sub-rule (1)
shall be omitted. (d)
the Note below rule 15A shall be omitted. (e)
in rule 16, after the words and symbol
"appropriate action in the matter." the following sentence shall be
inserted at the end, namely:- "The Super Check
Officer or Authorized Officer shall conduct such checking at any time during
the academic year and the Director shall issue orders on it within the school
year itself"; (f)
after rule 16, the following rule shall be
inserted, namely:- "17.
When the creation of a new post or
holding of a post through bogus admission or forged attendance is detected on a
verification conducted by the Educational Officer or Deputy Director, Education
or Super Check Officer or Director or any other officer authorised by the
Government, the pecuniar} loss caused to the Government on account of the
creation or holding of such posts shall be fully recovered from the teacher in
charge of the class, Headmaster or Headmistress or Vice-Principal, as the case
may be, or Manager or Educational Officers concerned who are responsible for
the same and disciplinary action shall also be initiated against the
concerned". Explanatory Note (This does not form part of
the notification, but is intended to indicate its general purport.) Government have decided to
process and issue orders on staff fixation in the schools and the approval of
appointments in the aided schools through online web portal, SAMANWAYA. It is necessary to take
measures to curb the practice of creating additional divisions and posts with
bogus admissions and forged attendance. Government have decided to sanction
additional divisions and posts only after a thorough verification in the manner
decided by the Government. It has been decided to
sanction additional divisions and posts only with effect from 1st October of
the year and to reduce the divisions and posts whenever already sanctioned
staff strength is affected by the fall in the pupil strength on rolls without
sufficient reason at any time during the academic year up to 31st January. Besides, the Honble High
Court of Kerala, in its Judgment dated 17th December, 2015, in W.P. (C) No.
19008/13, has set aside certain amendments made to the Kerala Education Rules,
1959 vide notification issued under G.O. (P) No. 154/14/G.Edn. dated 11th
August, 2014 and published as S.R.O. No. 485/2014.Kerala
Education (Amendment) Rules, 2022
ln the Kerala Education Rules, 1959,-