In Kodencherry, Kozhikode, Kerala, a female teacher has taken her own life due to not receiving a salary for six years. The State Education Minister has sought a report on the incident following claims that her application for job confirmation and salary was delayed due to ‘technical issues’. The Director General of Education has been instructed to conduct an inquiry. The teacher worked for a Catholic Church-run school. Once the report is received, appropriate action will be taken, the minister said.
The deceased, Aleena Benny, 29, was a teacher at St Joseph’s Lower Primary School in Kodencherry, Kozhikode district. She was found dead at her home on the afternoon of 19 February. The government-aided school is run by the Catholic Diocese of Thamarassery.
Meanwhile, Aleena’s father, a practising Catholic, has accused the school management and diocese of abetting her suicide. He alleged that the diocese harassed his daughter by withholding her wages and delaying her job confirmation. Benny Valavanickal stated that Aleena had paid ₹13 lakh six years ago to the Thamarassery Diocese to secure a teaching job in the government-aided school. Since she did not receive her salary for six years, she took up a position at another Church-run school. Speaking to the media on 20 February, the day of Aleena’s death, he blamed the diocese for her tragic demise.
“The diocese has not paid her salary for the past six years. She recently joined another Church-managed school as the diocesan authorities made no effort to confirm her in the first job,” Valavanickal said.
Diocesan officials, however, have dismissed these allegations as false and misleading.
Benny Lukose, secretary of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, told the media on 22 February that “these allegations are baseless and aimed at tarnishing the image of Church-run schools”.
The accusations and counter-accusations surfaced after Aleena was found hanging in her house in Kattipara village, Kozhikode district, on 19 February.
Benny further alleged that school managers forced his daughter to sign a document stating that she voluntarily relinquished her salary after serving at Nazareth Lower Primary School, a Church-run institution near her home, for five years. She had joined that school in 2019 when a teaching vacancy arose.
Teaching positions in government-aided schools and colleges are highly sought after due to job security and government benefits. Although these institutions are managed by diocesan or private bodies, the government is responsible for paying salaries.
Media reports and job seekers claim that private school managements demand payments ranging from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh to confirm candidates for government-paid jobs.
As per sources, Kerala has more than 13,000 schools, where Christian churches run some 5,000 in it and 3000 plus teachers are state aided schools and government pays their salaries. The management of state-funded schools has the authority to recruit qualified staff.
Lukose asserted that the diocese “has not taken any money for Aleena’s appointment. The government appointment was delayed primarily due to bureaucratic hurdles and other shortcomings in her records”. He stated that the education department had rejected the school management’s initial appeal to confirm Aleena’s employment. A second appeal, he added, had been pending for a year.
However, reports indicate that the government rejected Aleena’s confirmation due to the school’s failure to submit the required documents verifying the job vacancy.
The vacancy arose when the management dismissed a teacher, purportedly for disciplinary reasons. The education department required documentation approving the dismissal, along with three routine annual reports confirming that the school had a sufficient number of students to justify hiring a teacher. Additionally, the department requested a certificate attesting to the school’s building fitness.
On 21 February, Father Thomas (Ajimon) Puthiyaparambil, a Thamarassery diocesan priest facing an ecclesiastical trial for alleged disobedience, accused the school management of failing to submit the necessary documents to the government. He claimed that Aleena’s appointment would have been approved—and she would still be alive—had the documents been provided on time.
Christians constitute 18% of Kerala’s 3.5 crore population, while Hindus make up 54% and Muslims 26%.
Critics argue that Christian missionary schools across India operate with a deep-rooted nexus with state governments, allowing Catholic churches, bishops, and dioceses to control government-aided institutions with undue influence. Despite receiving substantial government funding, these Church-run schools also collect high fees from students, effectively exploiting both public and private sources. Many of these institutions are managed by Christian priests serving as principals, further strengthening the Church’s hold over the education system. Additionally, dioceses running these schools own vast assets and prime real estate, with some allegedly using these properties for commercial interests. This massive parallel network of financial and institutional power raises serious concerns and cannot be overlooked.
