The Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA) has claimed that the recent allotment of additional Plus One batches in north Kerala districts without any scientific studies is likely to create a crisis in the higher secondary education sector.
In a release on Thursday (July 30, 2026), KSTA president A.K. Beena and general secretary T.K.A. Shafi said that of the 120 batches sanctioned in Malappuram, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts, 90 were in aided higher secondary schools. They claimed that even though there were many government higher secondary schools in these districts facing a fall in the intake of students, batches had been allotted to aided higher secondary schools in their vicinity. This could lead to many schools losing their students after the completion of the school transfer process.
The KSTA leaders said that the number of students clearing SSLC exams had been coming down in the State over the years due to reasons such as falling fertility rates. In southern districts, many teachers’ posts were already on the verge of abolition. A similar situation could happen in north Kerala districts. Ms. Beena and Mr. Shafi said that a proper study on the number of students who could not get admissions could have been held and the batches rearranged before sanctioning new ones. Priority should have been given to government higher secondary schools too, they added.
Published – July 30, 2026 09:15 pm IST
