KOCHI: Though admission to Plus One classes began on Thursday by following Covid protocols, hundreds of students were disappointed as they couldn’t get admission in school and courses of their choice, which was indicated in their applications. Even students who scored A+ in all subjects didn’t get admission as per their designated choice.
Moreover, many students are yet to be allotted seats and are anxiously awaiting the second allotment result of Plus One admission, which is likely in October first week. At the same time, students from CBSE and other streams, who wish to pursue higher secondary in state syllabus, too faced this issue despite securing high marks in Class 10.
“Top scorers are confused and are complaining to their teachers as they didn’t get admission even in the school they completed SSLC despite getting full A+. There were 147 students who secured full A+ in our school and nearly 90% of them chose the science stream in our HSS as the first option. Less than 40% got their seats in the first allotment.
Science is the most sought-after stream, but this year most students will not get admission in it due to high competition,” said the principal of an aided HSS in Alappuzha.
The first allotment results were announced by the general education department on Wednesday. There aren’t enough Plus One seats to accommodate all eligible candidates who completed Class X.
Though there are 4,65,219 valid applicants for Plus One, only 2,71,136 merit seats are available. In the first allotment, 2,18,418 seats were allocated to students and only 52,718 seats remain unallocated. There are no seats for nearly 1.95 lakh students and their future is at stake.
But, teachers said that the main reason for the ongoing hullabaloo is the liberal marking system followed by the government in SSLC evaluation that led to an unusual increase in the number of top performers.
State general secretary Departmental Higher Secondary School Teachers Association (HSSTA) Anil M George said several undeserving students secured full A+ due to liberalized assessment making the competition the toughest ever.
“This year 1,21,318 students scored A+ in all subjects while there were only 41,906 students last year. There was a threefold increase in full A+ scorers though the grace marks were not calculated.
Thousands of undeserving students were given full A+ and because of that thousands of deserving students are struggling to get admission to their favourite school and streams. The present situation questions the assessment system of SSLC,” he said.
