The high court order directing self-financing CBSE schools in the state to award a hike in the salary of teachers and other staff has evoked mixed reactions from the school managements.
Kerala federation of CBSE schools chairman T.P.M. Ibrahim Khan welcomed the HC quashing the government’s stipulations including the 3-acre land norm.
According to Ibrahim Khan, the order will be a boon for new CBSE schools. The norms like a minimum strength of 300 students, and compulsory UID enrollment of students were not justifiable, and the court had rightly dismissed the arguments of the state. The federation is open to talks with the CBSE/ICSE boards and the state, he said.
However, the order directing a hike in the salary will affect the functioning of some minority schools.
The fixation of the payment at par with the government CBSE schools would be beyond the financial capacity of many managements, and this would lead to an increase in the fees above reasonable levels, he said.
Ibrahim Khan said the situation would lead to children leaving such schools, defeating the very objective of the Right to Education Act.
The fee structure and the salary of the teachers will be finalised in the upcoming meetings with the authorities, another management representative said.