Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to allocate a test centre in Kerala

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday directed the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to allocate a test centre in Kerala, especially in Kochi, for the written and skill tests for recruiting candidates to various posts in Kendriya Vidyalayas.



The Bench of Acting Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan passed the interim direction on a writ petition filed by Jiji Lanithottam, president, Sarvodaya Charitable Trust, Kottayam, and another person. The petitioner said that there were 29 Kendriya Vidyalayas in the State, and nearly 2,000 persons were recruited annually to various posts in the Vidyalayas.



The KVS recently announced 1,591 vacancies including the posts of 820 primary teachers, 160 post-graduate teachers, 30 work experience teachers, 40 upper division clerks and 95 lower division clerks and invited applications from eligible candidates. The tests were scheduled next month. The petitioners pointed out that no test centre had been allotted for the State. The nearest centre for a Keralite was Bangalore or Chennai. The petitioners said that only three States, Goa, Kerala and Manipur where three official languages, namely Konkani, Malayalam, and Manipuri, were spoken, had not been allocated any examination centre. The petitioners alleged that the KVS had chosen not to grant any test centre in these States with a view to preventing qualified candidates from writing the tests. This violated the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 15 of the Constitution (prohibition of discrimination based on religion, caste, race, sex and place of birth).