Insufficient seats to accommodate the growing number of applicants have been a perennial issue in Kerala. Worst hit are students in Malabar.
Published Jun 23, 2024 | 1:00 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 23, 2024 | 1:00 PM
Police shifting MSF activists from a protest site. The activists were protesting against the inadequate seats in higher secondary schools. (Sourced)
Shortage of Plus One (Class 11) seats in the Malabar region has once again triggered a political storm in Kerala with the ruling Front and the Opposition trading charges.
The five most affected districts — Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasaragod, and Palakkad — are witnessing a scramble for seats as many students are left without placements even after three rounds of allotments.
The crisis has raised concerns about the state of education in the region and the efficiency of the seat allocation process.
Insufficient seats to accommodate the growing number of applicants have been a perennial issue in the state.
Malabar, with its higher population density and student enrollment, bears the brunt of this disparity the most.
The government’s response, often limited to temporary solutions like additional batches or increased class strengths, is criticised by student organisations and Opposition parties as stop-gap measures with no lasting impact.
This recurring problem typically sees the government playing the waiting game, allowing the issue to gradually fade away from public attention until it inevitably resurfaces ahead of the next academic year.
“Every year, it’s the same story,” a teacher of a government high secondary school in Palakkad told South First.
“We have a massive shortage of seats, especially in the science stream. This leaves deserving students scrambling for whatever is left, jeopardizing their academic aspirations,” she added.
The teacher also added that the marginal increase in class strength will do more harm than good for the students.
She said while the government may boast about filling more seats, it comes at a steep cost. She pointed out that classrooms designed for 50 students are now crammed with 60 or more, creating a suffocating learning environment.
“Imagine a teacher trying to provide individual attention in a classroom overflowing with students. The quality of education suffers immensely. This is not a solution,. It is a recipe for disaster,” she said.
Of the 4,27,153 students who wrote the SSLC exam, 4,25,563 students became eligible for Plus One studies.
According to the government, a total of 4,33,471 Plus One seats are available in the state (3,78,485 seats in the government and aided schools and 54,986 seats in the unaided sector).
When it comes to the affected districts, 43,730 students in Kozhikode are eligible for Plus One, and of this, 8,931 got full A+. A total of 51,978 seats are available for regular studies (43,142 seats in the higher secondary sector, 2,670 seats in the vocational higher secondary sector, 5736 seats in the ITI sector, and 430 seats in polytechnic).
In Palakkad, 39,554 students became eligible for higher studies. Of this, 4,495 students got full A+.
Regarding seats, the district has 41,820 seats. This includes 35,720 seats in the higher secondary sector, 2,100 in the vocational higher secondary sector, 3,550 in the ITI sector, and 450 in the polytechnic sector.
In Kannur, 36,026 students passed. Of them, 7026 got full A+. As many as 41,972 seats are available for further studies. This includes 35,725 seats in the higher secondary sector, 1650 seats in the vocational higher secondary sector, 3877 seats in the ITI sector, and 720 seats in the polytechnic sector.
In Kasaragod, the northernmost district, 20,477 students passed and 3,006 students secured full A+. A total of 22,161 seats are available. The higher secondary sector has 18,565, 1,590 seats in the vocational higher secondary sector, 1,546 seats in the ITI sector and 460 seats in polytechnics.
In the case of Malappuram, the General Education Department claimed that there are 73,916 Plus One seats, including 28,646 in science streams. While commerce seats are 23,100; humanities seats are 19,290.
Of the total plus one seat, 34,060 seats are in the government sector and this includes 12,480 science seats. In the case of aided schools, the total seats are 25,690, and science seats are 11,530. Whereas, in unaided schools, there are 11,286 seats and science seats are 4,636.
Despite the numbers, students who secured full A+ complained that they are yet to get allotment.
Education Minister V Sivankutty has publicly denied the existence of a crisis, stating that thousands of seats remain vacant in the Malabar region each year after Plus One admission.
He further asserted that temporary additional batches are routinely permitted to accommodate students’ preferred streams.
“The notion of a seat crisis is a fabrication by the Opposition to score political points,” Sivankutty declared in the Assembly on 11 June.
However, his statement was directly contradicted by Minority Affairs Minister V Abdurahiman on 22 June, who acknowledged the issue, stating that he had brought the seat shortage to the attention of both the chief minister and the education minister. Abdurahiman represents Malappuram’s Tanur constituency in the Assembly.
“The reality that students are not securing seats even after three allotments in Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasaragod, and Palakkad needs urgent attention,” he emphasised, making it clear that the problem is significant and cannot be dismissed.
He also assured that it will be ensured that the students who passed the SSLC exam in the said five districts will get the opportunity to pursue Plus One in their respective areas.
“I had talked to the education minister. I raised the demands of upgrading high schools into higher secondary schools and sanctioning new batches in government-aided schools. The minister assured to look into these aspects and promised to resolve the Plus One seat issue soon,” Abdurahiman said in a statement.
Earlier, the Opposition Congress-led UDF vehemently refuted the government’s claims.
On 11 June, during an adjournment motion in the Assembly, UDF leaders accused the Left administration of issuing misleading statements regarding Plus One admissions.
Leader of Opposition Satheesan questioned why, if thousands of seats were indeed vacant, the state government permitted a 30 percent marginal increase in class strength.
“This increase will only exacerbate the burden on teachers, who will now have to manage classrooms with 65-75 students,” Satheesan argued.
Deputy Leader of Opposition PK Kunhalikutty highlighted that even with the marginal increase, there is a shortage of seats. He criticised the government for what he described as neglect towards the Malabar region.
UDF MLA N Samsudheen, who moved the adjournment notice, pointed out discrepancies between the minister’s figures and the data available on the government’s website. “There is an acute shortage of seats in Plus One across all the Malabar region, with Malappuram being the worst hit,” Samsudheen asserted.
With the SFI, ruling party CPI(M)’s students wing, also joining the bandwagon of those protesting against the government’s apathy in resolving the issue, the LDF government is now in a tight spot.
The UDF has proposed that the only viable solution to this recurring issue is the creation of permanent additional batches.
Samsudheen suggested that seats should be ensured at the taluk level to prevent students from having to travel over a 100 kilometers within a district to attend school.
Furthermore, he criticised the government for increasing the number of bars in the state by over 1,000 during its eight-year tenure while failing to authorise permanent additional educational batches.
In response, Minister Sivankutty stood by his figures and mentioned that the chief minister had assured steps would be taken to address any seat shortage after the three rounds of seat allocation were completed.
What prohibits the government from sanctioning additional batches is the financial liability.
It is said that for a government already grappling with budget constraints and financial limitations, the prospect of funding more educational infrastructure and resources is daunting.
However, this cycle of temporary fixes and deferred solutions perpetuates the imbalance, leaving Malabar’s students to bear the brunt of an education system that continually falls short of meeting their needs.
(Edited by Majnu Babu)
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