Alappuzha: A day after Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian criticised the state's education standards, saying the majority of SSLC students lacked the skills to write or read properly, General Education Minister V Sivankutty outrightly rejected it and said the observation was not factual.
Speaking at an event here on Saturday, Cherian recalled that earlier it was challenging to secure the minimum pass mark of 210, but now all students were able to clear the examination. "But, a significant percentage of them do not know how to read or write properly," he said. Expressing concern that if anyone flunked the examination, it would be portrayed as a failure of the dispensation, the minister said it was good for the government to be liberal in the evaluation for the SSLC examinations. But, the present General Education Minister Sivankutty, who already made it clear that the practice was not right, is expected to bring reforms, Cherian added.
In a statement on Sunday, Sivankutty said Kerala is the state that provides pre-primary, primary, upper-primary, high school and higher secondary education in the best manner in the country. "Kerala will not compromise on academic excellence. Kerala still ranks first in the Centre's development indices in terms of school education," he noted.
Sivankutty also said an unnecessary controversy has been brewing over some remarks made by Cherian. "If you listen to the entire speech, it is clear that he has expressed his opinion to take the public education sector to a higher level," he added. He also listed various initiatives being taken up by his department to better the school education system in the state.
A pass percentage of 99.69 per cent was registered in the Class 10 Secondary School Leaving Certificate examinations in Kerala for the academic year 2023-24 when the results were announced last month. A total of 4,25,563 students cleared the examination for an overall pass percentage of 99.69 per cent, officials said.
(With PTI inputs)