Keralam LPST Rank Holder Valarmathi Resumes Protest, Vows To Persist

Thiruvananthapuram: Valarmathi, secretary of the Action Council and convenor of the LPST rank holders' protest committee, returned to the agitation outside the Secretariat on Sunday after being taken to hospital by police during her indefinite hunger strike, vowing to continue the stir until their demands were met.

She had tonsured her head on October 26 before beginning the hunger strike, demanding that appointments to government schools be made from the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) rank list for Lower Primary School Teacher (LPST) posts before its expiry.

The rank holders have been staging a protest in front of the Secretariat for the past 117 days.

On Saturday, doctors examined Valarmathi and advised immediate medical attention, following which police took her to hospital.

Speaking to reporters after returning to the protest, Valarmathi alleged that police had used force to remove her from the protest site despite her weakened condition after six days of fasting.

"I was dragged away by the police. They pulled me by my hands and legs, causing swelling and severe pain throughout my body. Is this the way the police should treat a person who has been fasting for six days?" she asked.

Valarmathi alleged that her health condition had not been properly assessed before she was taken away.

Her blood sugar and pulse readings were normal when she was examined, and she was suffering only from exhaustion due to exposure to the sun, she claimed.

"If the government thinks that ordinary people can be treated in any manner, we will strongly resist. The more they try to weaken us, the more determined we will become to continue this struggle," she said.

Valarmathi also alleged that police had taken away her mobile phone at the hospital and questioned the manner in which she was shifted there for medical attention.

She said the agitation would continue until the government issued orders addressing their demands, adding that even if a death occurred during the protest, it would not be called off.

The rank holders are demanding appointment orders for all eligible candidates on the LPST rank list before its expiry, the transfer of appointments to aided-school teaching posts to the PSC, an end to alleged cash-for-job practices in recruitment, and a reduction in the teacher-student ratio to 1:25.

Valarmathi said reducing the teacher-student ratio was necessary in view of the declining student strength in government schools and the large number of qualified teachers awaiting appointments.

She alleged that appointments to teaching posts in aided schools across the state were being made outside the PSC system and reiterated the demand that such recruitment be brought under the commission.

She said the committee had collected school-wise and district-wise data on student strength, division vacancies and the number of children enrolling in Class 1 to substantiate its demand.

"There is no need for another study. We have scientifically collected the details of schools across the state. If candidates can gather such data, why cannot the authorities examine the figures available with the Education Department?" she asked.

Valarmathi alleged that the government had failed to provide documentary evidence to substantiate its position on the protesters' demands. Assurances without official orders or supporting records were meaningless, she said.

She questioned whether the government had sent any recommendation to the PSC to stop or defer the notification for fresh appointments until eligible candidates on the existing rank list were considered.

"Unless the government takes concrete steps and issues the necessary orders, we are not prepared to compromise. The agitation will continue with full strength," she said.

Valarmathi announced that youth organisations would stage a strong protest near the Secretariat on Monday, alleging that attempts were being made to suppress the agitation.

She accused state Education Minister N Samsudheen of misleading the Assembly by claiming that four of the five demands raised by the protesters had been met.

However, she maintained that none of their demands had been fulfilled and that the government had not conducted any study on the issues, despite having earlier sought 45 days to examine them.