Thiruvananthapuram: Six northern districts in Kerala reportedly may find it difficult to carry out higher secondary Plus-One admissions for the 2023-24 academic year smoothly owing to a shortage of sanctioned seats. This crisis is feared even after the Kerala Government decided to retain the additional Plus-One batches that were allowed last year to ensure that there wouldn’t be any shortage of seats this year too.
Around 3.85 lakh students are likely to get Plus-One admission this year too, Education Minister V Sivankutty had earlier estimated.
The shortage of higher secondary seats is expected in the six northern districts from Palakkad to Kasaragod. The biggest disparity between the number of students who have cleared the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination and the number of Plus-One seats exists in Malappuram — around 14,000. But the Plus-One seats outnumber the students who have cleared the SSLC in districts between Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur.
As per the official data, there are 3,60,692 seats in the plus one classes. Last year, 81 batches and 10-20 per cent marginal seats had been temporarily sanctioned at certain schools. The total number of seats would be 4.18 lakh if the additional and marginal seats too are counted. Even then, there would be a shortage of seats in the six northern districts.
Meanwhile, the number of students who have secured A-Plus in all subjects in the state this year has increased by around 25,000 from last year. Therefore, getting admission in their preferred stream at the school of their choice would be a challenge for many students. In Malappuram alone, 11,876 students have secured A-Plus in all subjects.
Last year, admission was conducted to 3.86 lakh seats in the state. The Minister recently pointed out that the number of students who have cleared SSLC this year is lesser than 5,439 compared to last year. There are 33,030 seats in the vocational higher secondary stream too. Apart from these, admission can be carried out to polytechnic and Industrial Training Institutes, and thus there would not be a shortage of Plus-One seats in any district, the Education Department estimates.
District wise data showing SSLC qualified, Plus-One Seats and Science, Humanities & Commerce seats
Thiruvananthapuram | 33,817 | 37,665 | 21,765, 7,515 & 8,385
Kollam | 30,199 | 31,182 | 17,616, 5,510 & 8,056
Pathanamthitta | 10,194 | 14,781 | 8,556, 2,389 & 3,836
Alappuzha | 21,413 | 22,639 | 12,839, 3,300 & 6,500
Kottayam | 18,886 | 22,208 | 14,036, 3,486 & 4,686
Idukki | 11,284 | 11,867 | 6,100, 2,128 & 3,639
Ernakulam | 31,445 | 37,889 | 21,289, 4,940 & 11,660
Thrissur | 34,137 | 38,126 | 20,629, 6,226 & 11,271
Palakkad | 38,794 | 34,387 | 16,143, 7,755 & 10,489
Malappuram | 77,827 | 63,875 | 26,646, 15,710 & 21,519
Kozhikode | 43,040 | 40,962 | 19,115, 8,991 & 12,856
Wayanad | 11,600 | 10,796 | 4,684, 2,959 & 3,153
Kannur | 34,975 | 34,292 | 16,124, 7,169 & 10,999
Kasaragod | 19,466 | 17,573 | 7,074, 4,580 & 5,919