Assurances apart, Plus One crisis haunts Malappuram

KOZHIKODE: The Plus One seat crisis continues in Malappuram with 16,881 students applying for supplementary allotment while there are only 6,937 merit seats remaining in the district.
Supplementary allotment data, which the education department released on Friday after the last date for submitting applications ended on Thursday, shows that over 9,944 students will be left without seats if they don't opt for management or unaided seats.
Meanwhile, the two-member committee constituted by state govt to look into the seat shortage submitted its report to the education minister in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. The committee recommended sanctioning of additional batches in Malappuram district. The number of additional batches to be allotted will be decided after consultation with the chief minister.
Interestingly, students from Malappuram district account for 42% of applicants for supplementary allotment, while students from the Malabar region (40,945) made up around 70% of the 57,712 applicants.
MSF state president P K Navas said that figures show that the attempt by state general education minister V Sivankutty to conceal the Plus One seat shortage by coming up with the data was numerical nonsense.
The crisis is all the more severe as 7,054 'non-joining' students, who haven't joined for courses despite getting allotment as they couldn't get the desired subject or school, could not apply for the supplementary allotment.
"If those students are also considered then there is a shortage of 16,998 seats in Malappuram seats," Navas said.
State govt must allot new Plus One batches to resolve the crisis, he demanded. Navas warned of strong protests if the demand is not met.