Kerala govt seeks 45 days to address protesting teachers’ demands; 1:25 teacher-student ratio top ask

Educatio
mi iste
eacts
to
teache s’
dema ds

The
Ke ala
gove me t
has
sought
45
days
to
exami e
the
dema ds
of
lowe
p ima y
school
teache s
(LPST)
a k
holde s,
followi g
talks
with
ep ese tatives
of
the
All
Ke ala
LPST
Ra k
Holde s
Associatio .The
developme t
comes
as
the
associatio ’s
13-day
hu ge
st ike
e ded,
with
sec eta y
S
Vala mathi
sayi g
the
discussio s
with
educatio
mi iste
N
Samsudhee
co cluded
o
a
positive
ote.Speaki g
to
epo te s,
educatio
mi iste
N
Samsudhee
said
the
issue
aised
by
the
LPST
a k
holde s
p otesti g
outside
the
Sec eta iat
had
bee
discussed
i
his
office
a d
that
both
sides
had
eached
a
u de sta di g.

“Both
pa ties
ag eed.
Based
o
this
discussio ,
they
tempo a ily
withd ew
thei
hu ge
st ike.
The
gove me t
will
take
the
ecessa y
steps
to
esolve
thei
g ieva ces,
a d
we
wa t
time
to
exami e
how
to
impleme t
this,”
he
said.The
latest
escalatio
comes
despite
seve
ou ds
of
discussio s
betwee
the
gove me t
a d
ep ese tatives
of
the
p otest
committee.Ra k
holde
e ds
hu ge
st ikeAll
Ke ala
LPST
Ra k
Holde s
Associatio
sec eta y
S
Vala mathi
e ded
he
hu ge
st ike
outside
the
Ke ala
Sec eta iat
o
Tuesday
followi g
discussio s
with
educatio
mi iste
N
Samsudhee ,
with
the
gove me t
seeki g
45
days
to
exami e
the
p oteste s’
dema ds.

Speaki g
afte
the
talks,
she
said,
“Today
is
the
37th
day
of
the
p otest.
It
is
also
the
13th
day
of
the
hu ge
st ike.
I
am
ve y
disappoi ted
that
the
gove me t
delayed
the
talks
fo
so
ma y
days.
Howeve ,
I
am
happy
that
today’s
discussio
with
the
gove me t
e ded
o
a
positive
ote.”

Speaki g
fu the
she
a ou ced
that
the
p otest
will
co ti ue
outside
the
Sec eta iat.
“Although
I
have
e ded
the
hu ge
st ike,
the
p otest
will
co ti ue
i
f o t
of
the
Sec eta iat.
Howeve ,
the e
will
be
o
sloga
shouti g
o
demo st atio s
as
pa t
of
the
p otest,”
Vala mathi
said.Key
dema dsThe
LPST
a k
holde s
have
bee
p otesti g
fo
ove
a
mo th,
dema di g
appoi tme ts
f om
the
Ke ala
Public
Se vice
Commissio ‘s
a k
list
fo
Lowe
P ima y
School
Teache
posts,
published
i
May
2025.They
have
also
sought
g eate
t a spa e cy
i
epo ti g
vaca cies
a d
cha ges
to
the
ec uitme t
p ocess.The
p oteste s
a e
seeki g
a
eductio
i
the
teache -stude t
atio
to
1:25,
c eatio
of
additio al
teache
posts
a d
the
t a sfe
of
appoi tme ts
i
aided
schools
to
the
Ke ala
Public
Se vice
Commissio
(PSC).
They
a gue
that
lowe i g
the
atio
would
c eate
mo e
teachi g
posts
a d
help
facilitate
appoi tme ts
fo
a k
holde s.The
gove me t
had
also
p oposed
a
two-mo th
sala y
co cessio
if
the
p oteste s
called
off
the
agitatio ,
but
the
p oposal
was
ejected.