THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The record success rate in the SSLC exam this year would naturally warrant a proportional increase in the number of higher secondary seats across the state. But academics have pointed out that the annual practice of effecting a state-wide marginal increase of Plus I seats by 20% is not a solution to address the issue as the demand-availability ratio is not uniform across all districts. The Higher Secondary Plus I sector has a total of 3.61 lakh seats.
If VHSE schools, ITIs, ITCs and Polytechnics are taken into account, the number of seats available for SSLC students for higher studies would add up to 4.38 lakh. The number of students who have passed the SSLC examination this year is 4.17 lakh. Meanwhile, around 40,000 students from the CBSE and ICSE streams also join state syllabus courses every year but the exact number this year would be known only at a later stage. “Not all students who pass SSLC take up the Higher Secondary course.
A total of around 75,000 seats are available in VHSE schools, ITIs, ITCs and Polytechnics and these seats too have a fairly good number of applicants. Even if the crossover students from other streams such as CBSE or ICSE are also taken into account, the seat scenario is more or less fairly balanced at present,” said a senior official. Interestingly five southern districts have a surplus of Higher Secondary Plus one seats ranging from 631 to 4,490 when compared to students who have passed SSLC this year. (See table).
On the other hand, northern districts from Malappuram to Kasaragod have a deficit of Plus I seats ranging from 2,812 to 22,329. The unscientific manner in which Plus I batches were allotted is pointed out as the reason for this imbalance. “Over the years, we have been urging the government to undertake a state-wide scientific study on the actual Higher Secondary seat requirement and to correct the imbalance. However, what is being done is a pan-state marginal increase of seats carried out in a highly unscientific manner,” said S Manoj of Aided Higher Secondary Teachers Association.
Academics have also suggested that the Plus I seat increase should be affected only in proportion to the demand. The centralised allotment process of Plus I seats is a clear indicator of areas where Plus I seats are in huge demand. In 2014 and 2015, a number of new Higher Secondary batches were allotted across the state. Of these, appointment of teachers to 54 batches has not been carried out as minimum student strength of 50 could not be maintained. The lopsided manner in which seat increase was carried out is pointed as the reason for the situation.