Date:09/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/09/stories/2008080954590500.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Single window system a failure: forum

Special Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram: The Aided Higher Secondary Teachers Association has described the single window system adopted for admission to the Plus One courses this time as a complete failure.

Association president Nedumpana Anil said here on Friday that even though there was record victory for the SSLC this year, higher secondary schools in the rural areas had not received enough students. Twenty per cent of the seats were lying vacant in these schools.

In all, 4,32,700 seats were available in the State for the students who passed the SSLC for pursuing higher studies. They consisted of 3,40,050 seats for Plus One in 729 government schools, 529 aided schools and 444 unaided schools, 46,979 seats for VHSE, 9,660 seats for polytechnic, 9951 seats for ITI and 26,000 seats for ITC. The CBSE, ICSE and Open School were in addition to that. Some 4.5 lakh students passed the SSLC, including the SAY examination this year.

Mr. Anil stated that majority of the schools had just enough students, around 25, for one batch in the humanities area. In some schools, the strength of the humanities batch was below 25. If any of these students dropped out, the humanities teacher would lose his job.

He called for comprehensive changes in the single window system in the light of the experience. The system was implemented unilaterally without sufficient discussions. It was also fully controlled by pro-government teachers organisations, he added.