Kozhikode; It was due to the distress stemming from losing the A plus grade in just one subject in her SSLC examinations that a girl student in Kannur committed suicide. This incident has surfaced amidst mounting concerns among approximately 85,000 students in Malabar region who find themselves unable to secure admission to plus one despite being qualified for higher studies.

The immense pressure experienced by this girl due to the loss of a single grade also underscores the urgent need for authorities to acknowledge and address the overwhelming stress faced by a significant number of students.

Despite long standing calls to increase plus one seats in schools across districts from Palakkad to Kasaragod, the government's response has been marked by irrational justifications and temporary measures. However, the crux of the matter lies in a much graver concern: the infringement upon the fundamental right to education. These students find themselves barred from accessing higher education amidst widespread concerns about a decline in educational standards.

Trial list comes out; so does shortage of seats
The scarcity of plus one seats in Malabar has been starkly highlighted with the release of the trial allotment list. Across the six districts spanning from Palakkad to Kasaragod, a staggering 245,976 applicants have vied for admission. The trial allotment has only accommodated 120,939 out of the 160,267 merit seats available. Even considering the remaining 39,328 seats, 85,709 students who have applied through the single window will be left out.

In Malappuram district, which has the highest number of applicants, only 36,385 out of the 82,425 applicants secured a place in the trial allotment list. Despite the district having 49,664 merit seats available under the single window, a significant gap remains. Even with the inclusion of the remaining seats in the first allotment list, approximately 32,000 students will find themselves without a seat.

In Palakkad, there are 27,199 merit seats available for approximately 45,203 applicants. However, only 22,565 candidates received a trial allotment, leaving a shortage of 18,004 seats in the district.

In Kozhikode, there are 31,151 merit seats up for grabs among 48,121 applicants. Yet, only 23,731 students were allotted seats in the trial allotment, resulting in a shortfall of 16,970 seats.

While a significant disparity persists between the number of applicants and available merit seats in Malabar, the situation in Southern districts remains comparatively less problematic, with a narrower gap between applicants and seats.

In Thiruvananthapuram, 34,558 applications were received against 25,991 available merit seats. However, only 22,608 were allotted during the trial allotment. This leaves 8,567 students at risk of not receiving admission.

In Pathanamthitta, 13,849 applications were received against the available merit seats of 9,871.This means the district faces a shortage of 3,978 seats.

However, while the shortfall in Pathanamthitta amounts to approximately 4,000 seats, the gap widens significantly to around 32,000 in Malappuram. It's worth noting that there are also instances where seats remain vacant in certain schools across Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts.

Seat increase and temporary batches fail to solve crisis
Despite efforts to address the shortfall by implementing temporary batches and increasing seats by up to 30%, Malabar continues to grapple with a significant gap. Presently, the region provides only 25,150 seats in alternative higher education options following the 10th standard, including VHSE, Polytechnic, and ITI programs.

Furthermore, the majority of these institutions and courses are situated outside of Malabar. Out of the total 72,641 available seats, 47,491 seats are located in districts spanning from Thrissur to Thiruvananthapuram.

Instead of introducing new batches, the government has opted to increase the marginal seats by up to 30%. Consequently, a plus one class initially designed for 50 students now accommodates 65 students. The Labba Commission, appointed by the State Government in 2012, had recommended that a plus one class should accommodate a maximum of 40 students. However, the government at that time decided to raise the ceiling and set the limit at 50. In Malabar, however, even this ceiling is exceeded to accommodate 65 students in one class, leading to several academic-related issues.

Upon examining this year's examination results, it becomes evident that of the six districts lagging behind the state average in securing A plus grades, four belong to the Malabar region.

No relief to even those who have secured full A plus
When the trial allotment list was released, even students with full A plus grades faced challenges. For instance, a student from Kuttiady, who earned A plus grades in all subjects, was assigned to a school listed as their fifth choice. Another student with full A plus grades was allotted a seat in a school 40 kilometers away. In short, the situation in Malabar has become so dire that even top-performing students cannot secure a spot in their preferred schools.

In response, the government formed a committee led by Prof. Karthikeyan Nair to investigate the issue and propose solutions. Although the committee has submitted its report to the Education Minister, the government has yet to make it public.

A sustainable solution involves creating new plus-one batches in the Malabar districts by maintaining the state-wide ratio of 1:50. Education sector experts also suggest that plus-one batches in the southern districts with low student numbers could be consolidated and the excess batches be shifted to the Malabar region.