Malappuram students hope for HC intervention amid Plus-One seat shortage.

Students in northern Kerala face a dire challenge securing admission to desired Plus-One courses due to a severe scarcity of seats. Their hopes now rest on the Kerala High Court’s intervention to resolve this crisis. Following pleas from students, parents, and MSF state president P.K. Navas, the High Court issued a notice to the government, demanding a response within two weeks.

Despite supplementary allotments, numerous students in the Malabar region are still awaiting admission into their preferred courses, with an estimated shortage of around 50,000 seats. Malappuram district is particularly affected, with a shortfall of approximately 29,000 seats. While seats remain available in aided and unaided schools through management quotas, these options are financially unfeasible for many students.

In Malappuram, 77,827 students passed the SSLC examination, while 81,022 students have applied for Plus-One admission in different schools. However, government higher secondary schools in the district can only accommodate 48,250 students. Aided schools offer 7,190 seats, and the unaided sector provides 11,291 seats. The combined availability of seats in Polytechnic, ITI, and VHSE stands at around 4,000. Despite these figures, the district requires over 13,000 additional seats to accommodate all eligible students seeking admission through the merit quota.

P.K. Navas expressed confidence that the High Court’s intervention would prompt the government to take substantial action and resolve the crisis. MSF and the Indian Union Muslim League have been actively involved in seeking a positive outcome. Meanwhile, MSF leaders have vowed to continue their agitation against the government. Previous decisions to allocate 14 additional batches in the district have been met with skepticism, as experts argue that this would only increase seat availability by 700.

In light of the situation, senior Muslim League leaders and MLAs have approached the Chief Minister and Education Minister, urging their intervention in this pressing issue.