Mon Aug 18 15:47:41 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summary of the article and a rewrite as a news article:

**Summary:**

The General Education department in Thiruvananthapuram, India, has amended a controversial order that sought to assign clerical duties to higher secondary school principals, effectively reducing their teaching hours. This decision stemmed from a High Court petition requesting the sanctioning of clerk, librarian, and menial employee positions. The initial order argued that these schools didn’t require full-time clerks. Teachers and principals strongly objected, citing their already heavy workloads including teaching, assessment, lab work, exam prep, data collection, and extracurricular activities. While the amended order acknowledges the sharing of clerical work by principals and teachers with lighter workloads, it maintains that creating new positions would place an undue financial burden on the government. Teacher associations still object to the amended order, disagreeing with the notion that higher secondary education is a huge financial burden for the government.

**News Article:**

**Kerala Backtracks on Clerical Duties for Principals Amid Teacher Uproar**

**Thiruvananthapuram, August 18, 2025:** The General Education department in Kerala has amended a controversial order that would have mandated higher secondary school principals to perform clerical tasks, following widespread criticism from teachers and principals. The initial order, aimed at addressing a High Court petition seeking the creation of clerk, librarian, and menial employee positions, stated that higher secondary schools did not require full-time clerks, prompting a reduction in principals’ teaching hours.

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty announced the amendment on Monday, acknowledging the concerns raised by educators. The original directive suggested that teachers, supposedly with light workloads, could also handle library duties.

However, educators argued that they were already overburdened with teaching, continuous assessments, lab activities, exam duties, higher secondary admissions, UDISE data collection, scholarship-related work, extracurricular engagement, and working after school hours. They emphasized the lack of time for student interaction and extracurricular activities.

The amended order acknowledges the sharing of clerical duties between principals and teachers with lighter teaching schedules. It also states that creating new positions would create a precedent and place a significant financial burden on the government, given its existing commitment to the higher secondary education sector.

The Higher Secondary School Teachers’ Association is disputing the amended order, specifically objecting to the assertion that higher secondary education is a significant financial strain. They question the basis for this conclusion, arguing that public education should not be viewed solely through a “profit and loss” lens. The debate highlights the ongoing tensions between the government’s fiscal concerns and the demands of educators for adequate staffing and resources in Kerala’s higher secondary schools.

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