The State government has asked the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) to include questions on Malayalam in examinations conducted by it for appointment of lower and upper primary teachers to State schools.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Kerala Public Service Commission, the government has said that all examinations for appointment of lower primary/upper primary assistants (teachers) conducted by the PSC should include questions for 20 marks to test the candidates’ aptitude in Malayalam.
The government had, in October last year, sought the PSC’s opinion on the matter, and the PSC had in turn submitted a report to it.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Aikya Malayala Prasthanam that had launched a campaign to press for the inclusion of Malayalam questions in the tests said the government direction to the PSC was a culmination of its mass representation that was submitted to the Chief Minister 10 months ago.
Signature campaign
The online signature campaign was inaugurated by filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan on September 14 and garnered 34,237 signatures.
The signatories included prominent names such as M.T. Vasudevan Nair, the late Sugathakumari, M. Leelavathy, K. Satchidanandan, C. Radhakrishnan, M. Mukundan, N.S. Madhavan, V. Madhusoodanan Nair, and George Onakkoor.
The Aikya Malayala Prasthanam had alleged that the PSC was continuing its neglect of Malayalam in employment examinations despite the Chief Minister’s assurances that question papers for tests with graduation being the minimum qualification would be prepared in Malayalam. The organisation said in its statement that formation of a ministerial-level department was imperative for the sake of Malayalam.
