Kerala Assembly: UDF stages walkout over scarcity of Plus One seats in six districts in North Kerala
The Hindu
Kerala Assembly: UDF walks out over scarcity of Plus One seats in six districts in North Kerala
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition walked out of the Kerala Legislative Assembly on June 11 accusing the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government of not providing enough Plus One seats to fulfil the academic aspirations of higher secondary students in six districts in North Kerala.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) legislator N. Samsudheen served an adjournment notice seeking the Assembly’s leave for an emergency debate on the government’s “dismissive attitude” towards students and their families in the Malabar region.
Mr. Samsudheen quickly clarified that his intention was “not to stoke parochial sentiments or foster an unhealthy North-South divide” in Kerala. He said he was merely holding a mirror to a “highly perturbing and deeply emotional” issue.
He said the pain of the people of Malabar had compelled him to compare the Plus One seat situation in Malappuram and Pathanamthitta.
Mr. Samsudheen said a student with a low score in Pathanamthitta could quickly get admission to the coveted Plus One Science course at a school near his or her residence. In contrast, a student in Malappuram with an A+ in all subjects would find it difficult to get a Plus one seat in a school within a reasonable distance from home.
“Nearly 14,000 Plus One seats lie vacant in Pathanamthitta. The government should reallocate them to benefit students in the ill-served northern districts”, he said.
“A student from an ordinary working-class family in Ponnani must commute daily to a school 75 km away in Nilambur to study her favourite course. The child would have to sit in a crowded classroom of 70, much more than the optimum class size for Plus One courses. Learning becomes the causality”, he said.
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