Thiruvananthapuram: The lower primary school teacher (LPST) rank holders on Monday called off their 13-day indefinite hunger strike in front of Secretariat after talks with general education minister N Samsudheen. The govt has sought 45 days to examine and resolve their grievances, which the protesters have accepted.S Valarmathi who has been on hunger strike, ended her fast after the minister offered her water. However, the 37-day-long sit-in by the LPST rank holders will continue until the govt issues orders addressing their demands. Valarmathi told reporters that the minister had sought 45 days to examine the issues raised by the protesters. She said the rank holders would remain at the protest venue during this period, though they would not stage demonstrations.“We will remain here, counting the days, until the issues are resolved. We hope the govt will take a favourable decision at the earliest,” Valarmathi said.The rank holders have been demanding that the PSC should stop issuing fresh notifications without first reporting available vacancies. They have also sought an extension of the validity of the existing rank list to enable more candidates to secure appointments before it expires. The minister promised the protesters that these demands would be considered sympathetically.The govt sought 45 days to conduct a detailed examination of two other demands — appointing PSC-recruited candidates to HTV posts and revising the teacher-student ratio to 1:25 in govt schools where teaching posts are facing the threat of reduction. The protesters agreed to the proposal that the govt examine their demands during this period and approve those demands found feasible without delay.The rank holders claimed that even candidates placed high on the rank list in several districts have not received appointment letters. They had staged a series of unusual protests, including a symbolic act of eating grass, to draw attention to their grievances.Their demands include reducing the teacher-student ratio, creating additional teaching posts and entrusting appointments in aided schools to PSC.
