They Topped Exam, But Had To Eat Grass & Soil, Fast For A Job: Inside Kerala PSC Protest

Published 11 August 2026 · local

News explainers They Topped Exam, But Had To Eat Grass & Soil, Fast For A Job: Inside Kerala PSC Protest They Topped Exam, But Had

News explainers They Topped Exam, But Had To Eat Grass & Soil, Fast For A Job: Inside Kerala PSC Protest They Topped Exam, But Had To Eat Grass & Soil, Fast For A Job: Inside Kerala PSC Protest Published By, Last Updated: August 11, 2026, 16:01 IST 36 days of Kerala protest: Following an intense 13-day hunger strike by Association Secretary Valarmathi S, Kerala's Education Minister met with the protesters on August 11 Rapid Read The protest against Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) is led by the All Kerala Lower Primary School Teacher (LPST) Rank Holders' Association. Even as Delhi’s CJP-led Jantar Mantar and Jharkhand JPSC-JSSC protests make the news, Kerala, too, is witnessing an indefinite agitation led by qualified job aspirants outside the Kerala Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram over severe delays in government job appointments. The protest against Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) is led by the All Kerala Lower Primary School Teacher (LPST) Rank Holders’ Association. Following an intense 13-day hunger strike by Association Secretary Valarmathi S, Kerala’s Education Minister met with the protesters on August 11. The fast was temporarily called off after the government formally requested a 45-day window to comprehensively review these structural demands, though peaceful sit-ins outside the Secretariat will continue until concrete action is taken. WHAT IS THE ISSUE? Despite clearing the exams and being officially included in the May 2025 Kerala PSC rank list, hundreds of qualified candidates have not received their appointment orders.

Protesters allege that positions are intentionally being left vacant or withheld. The protest has crossed 36 consecutive days of sit-ins and demonstration lines, with some members escalating the movement by launching indefinite hunger strikes. To draw national attention and express their extreme desperation regarding financial hardship, candidates held a dramatic symbolic protest by eating grass and soil from paper plates outside the state capital’s Secretariat. The protest intensifies at a time when the Kerala state government has separately assigned the Crime Branch to investigate alleged systemic irregularities and procedural lapses in specific Kerala PSC exams. The BJP will always stand with our youth.❌ Keralam has the highest unemployment in the country❌ PSC rank holders are forced to protest on the streets for jobs they have rightfully earned. ❌ Our youngsters are forced to eat mud in protest to be heard. ❌ The State… pic.twitter.com/HCmxeGORj4 — Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@RajeevRC_X) July 24, 2026 WHAT ARE THEIR DEMANDS? The core objective of the protesting Lower Primary School Teacher (LPST) rank holders is the immediate issuance of government job appointments from the official Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) rank list published in May 2025. The All Kerala LPST Rank Holders’ Association has put forward a structured set of structural and procedural demands to resolve the crisis Candidates demand that the state government immediately stop withholding positions and issue formal advice/appointment letters to those already on the May 2025 rank list.