36 days on, Kerala teachers protest over delayed government appointments

Lower Primary School Teacher rank holders have been protesting outside the Kerala Secretariat for 36 days, demanding appointments from the May 2025 PSC list. The agitation has intensified with a hunger strike and growing anxiety among candidates over continued delays.

In Short

• LPST rank holders protest outside Kerala Secretariat for 36 days
• Association secretary is on indefinite hunger strike for 12 days
• Protesters want vacancies reported promptly, appointments made from rank list

As the focus remains on the students' protest in Jharkhand, a recruitment-related agitation has been continuing in Kerala for over a month. Lower Primary School Teacher (LPST) PSC rank holders have been protesting outside the state Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram for the last 36 days, seeking appointments from a rank list published in May 2025.

The protest, organised by the All Kerala Lower Primary School Teacher Rank Holders' Association, has now entered its sixth week. Association secretary Valarmathi S has been on an indefinite hunger strike for the past 12 days, with the protesters demanding that the government begin appointments from the existing rank list without further delay.

The rank holders are also seeking transparent reporting of vacancies, with schools required to promptly report vacancies to the Kerala Public Service Commission. Among their other demands are a teacher-student ratio of 1:25, bringing up head teacher vacancies under PSC recruitment, ending direct recruitment by aided school managements and filling those posts through the PSC.

They are also demanding that teaching posts affected by a fall in student divisions be protected and that the validity of the current rank list be extended if appointments continue to be delayed.

The prolonged wait has taken a mental toll on several candidates. Ashwathy, a Palakkad native who secured a place on the rank list after clearing the PSC examination, said she had dreamt of securing a government job after completing her D.El.Ed course.

“I was also able to get a good rank. Then there was a waiting period for the appointment. Our list came in May 2025. Usually, the appointment must take place in one year. So, we were waiting with lots of hope and expectation,” she said.

She said the uncertainty has become a source of anxiety, with people constantly asking about her appointment. “I often have thoughts of being left with no appointment and that scares me,” she said.

The protest came amid a separate controversy over alleged irregularities in the Kerala PSC recruitment examination. The state government has ordered a probe, with a Special Investigation Team headed by Inspector General S Ajeetha Begum and the Crime Branch investigating the allegations.

For the LPST rank holders, however, the investigation has not resolved the immediate issue of appointments. Their protest continues outside the Secretariat as they press the government to act on the existing rank list.

- Ends