699 new Plus Two batches

Three additional batches in all districts

July 24, 2014 11:14 am | Updated 11:14 am IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:

The Cabinet has decided to sanction 699 new higher secondary (Plus Two) batches in government and aided schools to address the increasing demand for Plus Two seats across the State.

Briefing presspersons about the decisions of a Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that according to a court directive the Cabinet had decided to give priority to providing new batches in grama panchayats that had no higher secondary schools. Thus, 131 high schools (43 government and 88 aided) in panchayats would be upgraded to higher secondary schools.

As many as 95 high schools (18 government and 77 aided) from Ernakulam to Kasaragod were also considered in view of the heavy rush for admission. A large number of students were awaiting admission in this region.

Three additional batches had been sanctioned in all districts. Each new batch should have at least 40 students in the current academic year. If the new batches did not have the mandatory strength of 50 students in the next academic year, these would lose the recognition of the government.

Report need-based

The report of the Cabinet subcommittee for sanctioning new batches was need-based. In spite of the financial constraints, the government had decided to sanction the batches so that no eligible student was deprived of a Plus Two seat. This would not incur a major financial burden for the government as projected, he said.

Since the single-window seat allocation process had almost been completed, the schools could admit students directly to the new batches in the current year, but would have to go through the single-window system from the next academic year, Mr. Chandy said.

Admissions soon

Admission to the new seats would be completed at the earliest. Teachers from the teachers’ bank would be deployed in government schools, and aided schools would hire guest lecturers to handle the classes.

The government was considering whether 200 schools that had less than 10 students should continue to function or not. Some schools had only five students and five teachers. No teacher would lose their job owing to the closure of schools, he said.

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