Lakshadweep: Students in Lakshadweep have been protesting for months over issues affecting their education. After repeated discussions with authorities, attempts to resolve their grievances and formal complaints failed to yield results; the students intensified their agitation on October 19. Hundreds of students, teachers and local political leaders marched to government offices in Kadmat and Andrott on October 19 and 21, respectively, demanding action.
The protests were followed by two administrative orders: one extending teachers’ contracts until November 30, 2026, and another approving admissions to two new courses, BSc Computer Science and BBA Tourism.
Strikes put forth various demands, such as renewal of teachers’ contracts, approval of courses and related facilities, allocation of pending scholarships and sanction of a study tour. Although the government sanctioned two key demands, there is a catch.
The first order extended the teachers’ contracts until November 30. However, despite the approval of admissions to the two new courses, students have already lost several months of study time and the opportunity to appear for the exams. With examinations scheduled for November, both students and teachers now face the challenging task of covering the missed syllabus within a limited period.
“Before, when we asked for admissions to new courses, the authorities gave sponsor letters to students. Later, there were affiliation issues for the new courses. Even after it was affiliated to Pondicherry University, they delayed admissions, and all those students who applied were wandering here and there cluelessly,” says Sabith PK, a social worker who is deeply concerned with the future of students in his own land.
“Now, after three months of giving sponsor letters, the courses are finally being sanctioned, but that robs them of months of classes! Now they have only a few months left to finish off the portions and appear for University exams. Since the university conducts exams in common, the students of Lakshadweep alone won’t get any relaxation in terms of dates.”
“Most of the students are from various islands, so they have been making WhatsApp groups and sending multiple letters to the authorities, yet when the fruit of their efforts came, it again put them in another conundrum,” Sabith adds.
Mohammed Tasreef, chairperson of the Kadmat Students’ Council, highlights the challenges faced by students amid the ongoing education crisis in Lakshadweep. “These orders which came in are like hoodwinking, as they don’t rectify the core issues we raised. At present, we are pausing the strikes for a while. Right now, the priority is arranging meetings to discuss and decide what our next move should be.
Various other demands of students, like the issue of our pending scholarships and giving permanent faculty and so on, are just verbally addressed and not on paper, so if the government isn’t taking decisive action, we will be forced to resume the strikes far more vehemently,” Tasreef said.
The students are awaiting the resolutions from the meeting they have organised with PTA members and students. They can’t be silenced with fake promises and temporary relief, as this is all about their future.