Northern Kerala seat crunch: 120 additional batches recommended for Malabar districts

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to resolve the severe shortage of Plus One (Class 11) seats in Northern Kerala, the State Education Department has recommended the immediate creation of 120 temporary batches across four districts in the Malabar region. The proposal, targeting Palakkad, Malappuram, Kannur, and Kasaragod, will be placed before the state cabinet for a final decision during its upcoming meeting on Tuesday.

The move comes after the department observed that retaining last year's additional batches was insufficient to meet the overwhelming demand this academic year. Amid a flood of applications and mounting public pressure, education authorities have maintained that every eligible applicant should be accommodated. Crucially, officials noted that the structural layout of these temporary batches has been planned in a way that avoids incurring any additional financial burden on the state exchequer.

The crisis had previously been discussed in the last cabinet meeting, where ministers deferred a decision until the completion of the third allotment phase. In an earlier attempt to optimize seat availability, unfilled reserved seats—originally set aside for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and socially and educationally backward communities—were converted into general merit seats during the third round due to a lack of eligible claimants.

Despite these measures, statistical data highlights a massive deficit, particularly in Malappuram district, where 25,325 students are still waiting for admission. Following the publication of the third allotment, Malappuram was left with a mere 71 vacant seats against a staggering 82,753 applicants (including 8,213 candidates from neighboring districts) vying for just 57,428 available merit seats.

Similar shortages have gripped the rest of the region:

• In Palakkad, 37,405 local students are competing for a limited pool of 27,424 merit seats.
• Kannur faces a deficit with 28,701 merit seats catering to 34,897 in-district applicants, alongside an additional 8,213 inter-district candidates.
• In Kasaragod, the applicant pool stands at 20,449 against 16,024 available merit seats.

The proposed 120 temporary batches are viewed as a vital intervention to bridge this massive gap and guarantee higher secondary education for all applicants in the region.