Teachers in charge of textbook societies burdened: KPSTA

The row over unsold textbooks for Classes IX and X has yet to settle down. The Kerala Pradesh School Teachers’ Association (KPSTA) on Friday criticised the State government for allegedly pushing teachers in charge of textbook societies in high schools into heavy financial burden.

The directive to teachers to remit the price of unsold textbooks for Classes IX and X to the treasury had put them in a tight spot, the KPSTA said. In some schools this run into lakhs of rupees.

The change in the functioning of textbook hubs in districts was responsible for the current crisis.

Earlier, schools could purchase the number of textbooks required by making payments at the textbook hubs. However, for the past many years textbooks were delivered to schools on the basis of orders placed earlier.

This would be an approximate number. Not every student would purchase the new textbooks. As a result, some of the ordered textbooks remained unsold.

These were not taken back by the textbook hubs, the KPSTA alleged.

Textbooks were unused during the COVID19 pandemic. In many cases, changes in textbooks also prevented their reuse. The price of textbooks that remained unsold had to be remitted by the textbook society secretaries.

Directive to teachers to remit the price of unsold textbooks for Classes IX and X to the treasury has put them in a tight spot, the association says

However, turning this into the secretaries’ individual burden could not be allowed, the union said.

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty had earlier said that the order directing that arrears from 2010 for textbooks sold to students and the price of unsold textbooks and its interest be remitted to the treasury would be reexamined.

He had said that return of textbooks from a specified date and a relaxation for societies could be examined. However, there had been no further move in this regard though discussions had been held with the Director of General Education and petitions handed over, the KPSTA said.

Strong opposition

The government should take back the unsold textbooks and those that were no longer used for teaching students.

Attempts to recover the arrears from the retirement benefits of teachers would be strongly opposed, it said.

The Minister had said that the problems of teachers in charge of the school societies had been examined, and whatever could be done as per law would be done.