Kerala government plans to tackle shortage of Plus One higher secondary seats by setting up 120 temporary batches in Palakkad,Malappuram,Kozhikode and Kasaragod. Malappuram,facing worst shortage,will get about half of these new seats.
At Assembly session Monday,Education Minister N . Samsudheen addressed MLAs' questions on securing more Plus One seats. He said district and taluk assessments showed need for more seats. Proposal for extra batches will be discussed in upcoming Cabinet meeting.
Main phase allotment has given 81,770 students seats. But gaps remain, especially in unaided sector,with some districts seeing vacancies . Minister stressed government's pledge to fix these disparities,particularly in hilly and backward areas,by approving more seats in next couple years .
General Education department plans to establish permanent batches after this year's admissions wrap up. Samsudheen wants students who finished SSLC in a district to get Plus One seats in same district.
On overcrowded classrooms,Minister noted slight increase in seats as stopgap to manage student surge. Aim is to improve teacher-student ratio, cutting from 1:65 in government schools and 1:60 in aided schools to 1:50.
About enhancing students' skills in non-Malayalam languages and soft skills from Plus One level,Samsudheen mentioned potential initiatives as part of broader quality upgrades.
Minister also mentioned a study by previous LDF government under V . Karthikeyan Nair,which looked at higher secondary sector imbalances but led nowhere actionable.
Kerala gears up to face these educational hurdles,but will these steps ensure equal access to higher secondary education for all?
