THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With nearly 45,000 Plus-I seats lying vacant after the completion of the admission process this year, the government has decided to do away with the annual affair of increasing the number of higher secondary seats by 10 per cent.
According to the latest admission figures sourced from the Higher Secondary Directorate, as many as 44,905 Plus-I seats are lying vacant. These include 10,728 seats in the merit quota. While the management and community quota had vacancies of 4,428 and 3,031 seats respectively, a whopping 26,718 seats in unaided schools have no takers. If the merit seats alone are taken into account, the highest number of vacant seats is in Pathanamthitta district, followed by Kottayam and Alappuzha.
Admitting the large number of vacant seats is due to lack of proper co-ordination, the Education Department says it will find a solution to the problem this year itself. The government had allotted 10 per cent additional Plus-I seats this year after it was pointed out there was a serious demand-supply imbalance in Malappuram, Kozhikode and Palakkad districts.“Higher secondary seats will not be increased in future. Instead, the government will focus on ensuring there are enough students in the seats already sanctioned,” Education Minister C Raveendranath said.