IDUKKI: For 29 years, Vijayalakshmi S has taught from a lone classroom hidden deep inside the forests of Idukki, choosing chalk and compassion over comfort and security. Living among the Muthuvan tribal community of Edalipara – cut off from roads, phone signals and even her own family -- she educated first-generation learners on a salary that never matched her sacrifice.
Now, after decades of quiet service, the tribal development department has formally taken note of her case and submitted a detailed proposal to the government seeking a salary hike and related benefits, raising fresh hope that long-overdue recognition and support may finally come her way.
The school in Edamalakkudy was opened in 1997 under the Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP). Today, it remains one of the last two single-teacher schools in Idukki district. Vijayalakshmi, now 56, was integral to the institution from the very beginning, living within the settlement and teaching children whose parents were largely unlettered. Over the years, she has educated an entire generation of tribal youths, many of whom now serve in the forest and tribal development departments.
Yet, her bond with the community runs deeper. The residents built her a house within the settlement, close to the school. She speaks the Muthuvan language fluently, dresses like tribal women and is given a place of honour at every public function. “I get students even from neighbouring settlements,” she says.
Among her former students is Anu Sekharan, a 22 year-old graduate now working as a schedule tribe promoter in Edamalakkudy. “With his first salary, he bought me a saree and presented it in front of his parents. That moment meant everything to me,” she recalls.
But her devotion has come at a heavy personal cost. When she joined the school, her monthly salary was just Rs 750. Today, she earns Rs 7,000. With no motorable road to Edalipara, hiring a jeep to reach Munnar costs Rs 5,000-6,000. Even shared transport costs Rs 2,000 for a return trip. “If I visit home often, my salary won’t cover the travel,” she says.
Poor mobile coverage means scare contact with her family. She could go home only for Christmas, Onam and summers breaks, saving whatever little she could to educate her two sons. Vijayalakshmi’s elder son still keeps reminding her that she was never there when they were growing up.
As a temporary employee, she has no provident fund, pension or retirement benefits. In 2023, she was invited to attend the Nava Kerala Sadas in Cheruthoni to explain her plight directly to the chief minister, but the meeting wound up before she got her turn.
Now, in a rare administrative acknowledgment, the Adimali tribal development officer has officially informed complainant K P Subhash Chandran that a detailed proposal recommending salary enhancement and service benefits for Vijayalakshmi has been submitted to the director of the department. The communication confirms that service at the Edalipara school merits government-level consideration.
“I have spent the best years of my life teaching tribal children,” Vijayalakshmi says. “In doing so, I gave up the needs of my own family. My only request is the government shows some mercy before I become just another memory in this forest.”
Welcoming the move, Subhash Chandran, who entered the India Book of Records for his book on Edamalakkudy -- the smallest tribal panchayat in India, said Vijayalakshmi’s life is a lesson in service. “Edamalakkudy is known for its isolation, but this teacher chose to live inside that isolation for 29 years so that tribal children could study. If the government finally recognises her sacrifice, it will send a powerful message that dedication in the remotest corners of the state is not invisible,” he said.