Thiruvananthapuram: A group of LPST rank holders, who have been agitating in front of the Secretariat here for the past 13 days raising various demands, ended their hunger strike on Tuesday following talks with Education Minister N Samsudheen. The hunger strike was called off after their talks with the minister in his chamber at the administrative hub.
Valarmathi, one of the rank holders who had been on hunger strike, announced the end of her fast by drinking water offered by Samsudheen.
Valarmathi, a leader of the protest committee, later told reporters that while the hunger strike had been called off, their agitation, which has been continuing for the past 37 days, would continue.
The government has assured the protesters that the issue raised by them would be resolved within one-and-a-half months, she said.
“We will continue the agitation without protests until the government’s assurances are fully implemented,” Valarmathi said, adding that the government had sought more time to examine various issues, including the financial implications of their demands.
There would be no protest marches or other agitation programmes for now, she said, expressing hope that the issues would be resolved by September 24.
The aspirants have been protesting in front of the Secretariat alleging that recruitment from the LPST rank list published by the Public Service Commission (PSC) has not progressed even a year after it was published.
The rank list, published on May 31, 2025, has resulted in only a small number of appointments so far, they alleged.
While addressing reporters later, Samsudheen said that the government wanted to move towards resolving the issue by accepting the demands raised by the protest committee wherever possible.
“An understanding has been reached on some of the issues,” he said.
The minister said that in several job categories, the PSC issues notifications even when vacancies have not been reported as part of the existing recruitment procedure. The government has assured the protesters that discussions would be held with the PSC on the matter, he said.
The existing LPST rank list has a validity of one-and-a-half years and the government has assured that its validity would be extended when it expires, the Minister said.
The job aspirants had also demanded that the teacher-student ratio be revised to 1:25.
The government has sought 45 days to examine this and some other demands, including their economic implications, the minister said.
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