Thiruvananthapuram: The General Education Department has announced a series of reforms and updates under the Samagra Gunameenma Vidhyabhyasa Padhathi (Comprehensive Quality Improvement Education Scheme), aimed at improving academic quality and transparency across Kerala’s public school system.

At a recent high-level meeting, the department decided to make it mandatory for students in Classes 5 to 9 to score at least 30% marks in each subject in written examinations for passing to the next class. This follows last year’s move to enforce the same standard in Class 8, where students falling short were offered vacation study support. The aim is not to cap student achievement, officials clarified, but to lift every student to curriculum-level competency.

Key decisions

• Minimum 30% marks mandatory in all subjects (Classes 5–9) to ensure core learning outcomes are met.
• Continuous academic evaluation will be monitored closely. Teachers, parents, and students must be made aware of performance through regular feedback.
• State-level education officials will visit schools to assess the effectiveness of monitoring systems at the district level.
• Training sessions will be held for Deputy Directors of Education (DDEs), District Educational Officers (DEOs), Assistant Educational Officers (AEOs), DIET Principals, Vidyakiranam District Coordinators and Samagra Shiksha Kerala District Project Coordinators. These officials will then train all headmasters in public schools by July 15.
• Cluster-level training for teachers will be held on July 19, focusing on school-level implementation of the scheme, identifying student learning levels, delivering targeted study support.

First-ever special textbooks for deaf students
This year, for the first time in the state's history, special textbooks have been prepared for children in special schools for the deaf.  These books, prepared under the leadership of SCERT, consider the unique abilities of these children. Their release and distribution will take place on June 30 at the Jagathy School for the Deaf in Thiruvananthapuram. Teacher training based on these new textbooks has already been completed in 32 special schools.

Higher secondary curriculum to be overhauled
The Plus One and Plus Two curriculum will undergo a comprehensive revision this academic year. The current textbooks, introduced in 2015, are seen as outdated in light of rapid global and higher education changes. This revision will be a continuation of the textbook revision from classes 1 to 10. Classes 11 and 12 will include sections on the powers and duties of the Governor. In the first phase, SCERT will revise 80 title textbooks. This work will be completed this academic year, and the new books will reach the students next year.