Minister’s assurance on Plus One seats brings relief to north Kerala students

General Education Minister N. Samsudheen’s recent statement that the marginal increase in Plus One seats and additional batches allotted last year will continue in the allotment process has come as a relief for North Kerala districts where seat shortage is acute.

Official sources told Hindu He informed that all arrangements have been made to start the admission process on Sunday, May 24, 2026. Sources said that the process will begin with the approval of the State Cabinet, which is scheduled to meet on Monday, May 25, 2026.

The previous Left Democratic Front government had allocated 352 additional batches for higher secondary schools in the states, with a marginal increase of 30% in seats. However, the additional batches and increase in marginal seats were announced after the allocation process started last year.

235 of these parties are in Malappuram district alone, where the shortage of Plus One seats is perceived to be severe. There are 34 batches in Kasaragod, 31 in Kozhikode, 19 in Kannur, 18 in Palakkad, nine in Wayanad, five in Thrissur and one in Kollam. If the marginal increase in seats is up to 30%, the number of places in a class can increase from 50 to 65. This time, if additional batches and marginal increase in seats are available in the initial allocation, students are likely to benefit.

According to data compiled by Malabar Education Movement, there is a shortage of 26,137 seats in Malappuram district, 9,324 in Palakkad, 7,758 in Kozhikode, 4,931 in Kannur, 3,583 in Kasaragod and 1,431 in Wayanad.