LPST rank holder ends hunger strike after meet with education minister
A hunger strike by Kerala Lower Primary School Teacher Rank Holders concluded after the Education Minister requested 45 days to review their demands for appointments and transparency in recruitment.
A hunger strike by Kerala Lower Primary School Teacher Rank Holders concluded after the Education Minister requested 45 days to review their demands for appointments and transparency in recruitment.
A hunger strike by Kerala Lower Primary School Teacher Rank Holders concluded after the Education Minister requested 45 days to review their demands for appointments and transparency in recruitment.
Thiruvananthapuram: The indefinite hunger strike by Valarmathi S, secretary of the All Kerala Lower Primary School Teacher Rank Holders’ Association, ended on Tuesday after Education Minister N Samsudheen met the protesters and sought 45 days to examine their demands.
Valarmathi ended her fast by drinking water offered by the minister. The association will, however, continue peaceful protests till the issues are resolved.
The LPST PSC rank holders had been staging a protest outside the Kerala Secretariat for over a month, demanding appointments from the rank list published by the Kerala Public Service Commission in May 2025. Valarmathi had been on an indefinite hunger strike for 13 days.
The protesters have been urging the government to initiate appointments from the existing rank list without further delay. They have also sought greater transparency in the reporting of vacancies, with schools required to promptly notify the PSC of available posts.
Among their other demands are maintaining a teacher-student ratio of 1:25, bringing head teacher vacancies under PSC recruitment and ending direct recruitment by aided school managements, with such appointments instead being made through the PSC.
The rank holders have also called for protection of teaching posts affected by a reduction in student divisions. They have sought an extension of the current rank list if appointments are delayed further.