Kerala plus one admissions: KSU steps up protest, marches to RDD office

Kozhikode: The Kerala Students Union (KSU) has escalated its protest against the shortage of seats in the Plus One classes in Kerala. The police intervened to halt a march to the Regional Deputy Director’s (RDD) office in Kozhikode, where officials were blocked from entering by the protesters. The police arrested and removed the demonstrators.

As the plus one classes began on Monday, 3,22,147 students secured admission to higher secondary schools across the State. However, KSU highlighted that numerous students with good marks were still unable to secure seats. The Muslim Students Federation (MSF) also protested against the same.

KSU and MSF had expressed their dissatisfaction by waving black flags at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kozhikode the other day, criticising the government's perceived inaction on the seat shortage issue. MSF also protested by locking the office of the Director General Education (DGE) regarding the plus one admission issue in Malabar.

In response, Minister V Sivankutty had asserted that there is no admission crisis for students. He informed the media that Malappuram district alone has 21,550 vacant seats, including unaided seats, while the number of applicants stands at 14,037. However, student organisations plan to intensify their protests as many students remain without admission.