Concern over delay in admission

Results of the SSLC examination was announced as early as April 21 by the education department this year. But majority of the State schools are yet to start Plus One classes even after three months as the higher secondary single window admission process has been delayed for different reasons.

If the current pace is any indication, it will take at least one more month to start the classes in a full-fledged manner after completing the admission process, say teachers of the higher secondary sector.

Only around 20 per cent of the seats were filled during the two regular allotments in many rural schools and the rest were yet to be filled via the supplementary allotment, which were yet to take place, says K.K. Sivadasan, a senior teacher of the Government Higher Secondary School, Balussery.

“Some schools have even given leave for those small number of students admitted to the Plus One seats as there is no point in starting classes before the entire seats were filled,” he said.

The present situation could have been avoided if the authorities had properly planned the admission processes in advance, says Joshy Antony, a higher secondary teacher and president of the Kerala Aided Higher Secondary Teachers Association (KHSTA). Though Plus One classes had started formally on July 8, a large number of seats were remaining vacant in many schools.

“The situation in city-based schools are better, but most of the rural school have only around one-third of the seats filled by now,” he said.