With directions given to the higher secondary wing to receive applications for Plus One higher secondary single-window admissions from July 1, teachers have started to press their demand for correction of anomalies in the admission procedures.
The large number of A+ grades last year–1,25,509–had created an unprecedented headache for the General Education Department, with loud complaints from students about denial of seats. This year, the number of students with A+ grade is much less at 44,363. However, the number of students who have become eligible for higher studies is more by 3,652 than that of last year.
With admissions likely to be no easier for students this year, teachers have reiterated their call for a relook at the admission alleging that some of the procedures ignore students’ merit.
Teachers say that earlier school/combination transfer was done before supplementary allotments, but last year, the department decided to hold them after the supplementary allotment. Students with high weighted grade point avarage (WGPA) who do not get allotment in the first or second main allotment round may not get school/combination of their choice if the school/combination transfer is held ahead of supplementary allotment.
However, if the supplementary allotment is held before the school/combination transfer, seats left vacant after the second main allotment will be filled with students with lesser WGPA, and students taking admission in the second main allotment and waiting for higher options through school/combination transfer suffer a setback.
In such a context, school/combination transfer and supplementary allotment should be held together on the basis of merit.
Another problem, say teachers, is that some schools are very liberal with awarding club certificates, while others are not. Since this affects their admission prospects, the number of club certificates that can be awarded needs to be stipulated.
Teachers say allotting the same bonus points to Scouts and Guides, NCC or SPC, and to those who know swimming is not appropriate since swimming training is not done in schools, unlike in the case of SPC or NCC, for which students lose academic days.
Many higher secondary schools are located on the borders of local bodies. However, students keen to take admission in them may not reside in the local body in which the school is situated. As such, students do not get the two bonus points of the local body in which they reside, the bonus points should be distributed to the school where the student studied in Class 10 and the taluk, and weightage given accordingly.
The Kerala Higher Secondary Teachers’ Union has submitted a letter to the General Education Principal Secretary highlighting their concerns, and seeking the setting up of a committee to address these.
