Thiruvananthapuram: The admission process for higher secondary and vocational higher secondary courses in Kerala will begin on June 2.
Around 3.85 lakh students are likely to get Plus-One admission this year too, Education Minister V Sivankutty had earlier estimated.
The online applications for the first round of allotment could be submitted until June 9. The trial allotment, based on single-window procedure, would be held on June 13 and the first allotment list would be published by June 19.
There would be three allotments in the first stage. The third allotment would be published on July 1.
The classes, meanwhile, are scheduled to begin on 5 July. The students will get one more chance to apply after that. It would be followed by two rounds of supplementary allotments.
The admission process ends on August 4.
As reported earlier 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 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.
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.
As per the official data, there are 3,60,692 seats in the higher secondary. 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.
However, Minister Sivankutty said that seats would be ensured for all the students who aspire to enrol for Plus-One courses in every district, including in Malappuram.
The number of students may go up to 60 in each batch as the marginal seats have been increased. It is not possible to allow an additional batch just for 25 students, the Minister said, while also noting that the increase in strength wouldn’t affect the academic quality.