Admission prospects of many Plus One students uncertain

Admission prospects of nearly 6,500 Plus One higher secondary students remain uncertain in the wake of the State government decision to appeal against the High Court order cancelling 10% community quota seats and merging these with general merit seats. The first allotment scheduled for August 3 will be published without merging the 10% seats with the general merit seats.

The seats that will be set aside include those in 307 aided schools – 272 schools under managements other than minority/backward communities and 35 under non-community managements. Setting aside such a large number of seats till the final verdict of the High Court will put a damper on the allotment chances of hundreds of students who were hopeful after their trial allotment results came out.

The Nair Service Society (NSS) has already gone in appeal against the High Court verdict claiming that while minority/backward managements of aided schools were getting 20% community reservation, forward community managements had been getting 10% seats. Now, even the little reservation they had got had been cancelled.

In aided schools under forward community managements, 20% seats for Plus One admission came under management quota. Besides this, 10% of the seats were to be filled by applicants from the community concerned on merit basis, as per a government order. However, management quota seats in schools under non-community managements such as trusts or societies were slashed from 30% to 20%, and 10% seats were to be merged with general merit seats.

The non-community managements had approached the court seeking restoration of the 30% management quota. This demand was denied by the High Court. The court also cancelled the 10% community quota seats in schools run by forward community managements and ordered that these be merged with general merit seats. This order was opposed by the NSS. The government too has decided to appeal against the court verdict. The trial allotment was held including the 10% community quota seats in general merit.