With the admissions process for Plus One classes in State syllabus higher secondary schools all set to begin on May 25, 2026, in Kerala, the newly sworn in United Democratic Front (UDF) government will have its task cut out to address the perennial problem of shortage of seats in Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasaragod and Wayanad districts.

In previous years, the Left Democratic Front government had tried to address the issue by opting for marginal increase of seats and shifting of some vacant batches from the southern districts to this part of the State.

According to the data compiled by activists of the Malabar Education Movement, a Kozhikode-based non-governmental organisation, there is a severe shortfall of seats in Malappuram district.

This year, 78,887 students Class X students became eligible for higher studies there. However, there are 47,950 Plus One seats, 2,325 vocational higher secondary (VHSE) seats, 1,295 Industrial Training Institute (ITI) seats, and 1,180 polytechnic seats in the district. In total, only 52,750 seats are available for higher studies. The shortage is 26,137 seats.

In Palakkad district, 38,147 students cleared Class X exams, but only 28,823 seats are available in higher secondary schools, ITIs, VHSE schools, and polytechnics. The shortage is 9,324 seats. Similarly, the number of aspirants and the available seats for Kozhikode are 42,675 and 34,917, Kannur 34,742 and 29,811, Kasaragod 20,418 and 16,835, and Wayanad are 11,145 and 9,714, respectively. In Thrissur, the shortfall is only 145 seats. However, over 7,000 excess seats are available in southern districts such as Pathanamthitta and Kottayam.

Functionaries of the movement such as K. Abdul Nasar, a retired college professor, say that marginal increase of seats and shifting of batches have not helped because teachers’ posts have not been proportionately increased. “Over 60 students are being forced to sit in classrooms where only 40 students can be accommodated. In one such school in Malappuram, the PTA had to install exhaust fans to clear the bad air. Even teachers are helpless as they are unable to do justice to their jobs,” he points out. They are planning to take up the issue with the government soon.