Latest news with #VSivankutty
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Kerala education minister stands firm on school timings despite religious opposition
PALAKKAD: Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Monday hardened his stance against religious and community organisations interfering in the affairs of educational institutions and said school timings across the state would not be decided to suit their convenience. He clarified that neither his department nor he had any role in the school timing adjustments in the state in the current academic year. "There are several religious and community outfits in the state. We cannot fix the timing of our schools and examinations of children as per their convenience," he told reporters here. To justify the new timings of state schools, the minister also cited the examples of school timings of Kendriya Vidyalayas in the state and those in Gulf nations. "We will try to convince everyone about this. A discussion will be held with representatives of school managements on Wednesday," he said. Sivankutty also said as per the rules and procedures of the Right to Education, there should be 220 school working days. According to General Education Department sources, the discussion will be held in the chamber of Sivankutty in Thiruvananthapuram on July 23 afternoon. One representative from each management is expected to attend the meeting, where the minister will outline the reasons behind the government's revision of school timings, they said. Sivankutty recently clarified that school timings cannot be changed to "accommodate a particular community", as the government must consider the interests of lakhs of students. He stated that the decision to extend school hours by 30 minutes was based on the Kerala High Court directive, and anyone aggrieved by it can seek legal remedies. As per the revised schedule, high school students (classes 8 to 10) will spend an additional 15 minutes each in the morning and afternoon on all working days except Fridays to help schools meet the mandated 1,100 instructional hours annually. The minister's clarification comes in the wake of mounting criticism from Muslim organisations, including the Sunni clerical body Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, which contends that the "extended hours will interfere with religious education." Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
New Indian Express
19 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Urgent safety audit in schools across Kerala after Karthikappally roof collapse incident: Edu Min Sivankutty
PALAKKAD: In response to the partial roof collapse at the Government UP School in Karthikappally, Alappuzha, the Department of General Education has decided to conduct an immediate and comprehensive safety audit of school buildings across Kerala. Minister for General Education V Sivankutty announced the decision while addressing the media on Monday morning in Palakkad. He confirmed that a time-bound action plan will be formulated to ensure student safety. 'As part of conducting the audit, a high-level meeting of department officials will be convened on Tuesday (July 22) at 9.30 am at the Shiksha Sadan, Thiruvananthapuram. The meeting, chaired by the Minister, will be attended by senior officials including Deputy Directors of Education, Regional and Assistant Directors, DIET Principals, District Educational Officers (DEOs), Assistant Educational Officers (AEOs), District Project Officers, KITE District Coordinators, and Vidyakiranam Coordinators,' the minister said. The meeting will review the progress of directives issued through the circular released on May 13, 2025, which detailed preparatory steps for reopening schools. Based on this, a new state-wide school inspection schedule has been planned.
News18
a day ago
- Politics
- News18
Kerala govt to meet school managements over revised timings
Agency: PTI Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 20 (PTI) The Kerala General Education Department on Sunday said it would hold discussions with representatives of school managements in the state regarding the change in school timings. The discussion will be held in the chamber of General Education Minister V Sivankutty on July 23 afternoon, an official statement said. One representative from each management is expected to participate in the meeting, during which the minister will explain the circumstances that prompted the government to revise school timings, it added. Sivankutty recently clarified that school timings cannot be changed to 'accommodate a particular community", as the government must consider the interests of lakhs of students. He stated that the decision to extend school hours by 30 minutes was based on the directions of the Kerala High Court, and anyone aggrieved by it can seek legal remedies. As per the revised schedule, high school students (classes 8 to 10) will spend an additional 15 minutes each in the morning and afternoon on all working days—except Fridays—to help schools meet the mandated 1,100 instructional hours annually. The minister's clarification comes in the wake of mounting criticism from Muslim organisations, including the Sunni clerical body Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, which contends that the 'extended hours will interfere with religious education." Sivankutty had said the decision was based on a Kerala High Court ruling in August 2024, which deemed the earlier academic calendar—featuring 25 working Saturdays—"invalid" due to the absence of official government sanction. PTI LGK SSK First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Educational Apocalypse
Quixotic policies and political one-upmanship are derailing the future of an entire generation Fair is foul and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.' If the Bard were to write in the milieu of modern-day Kerala, he would have certainly repurposed this famous phrase—uttered by the witches in Macbeth—to conjure up the political debauchery, deceit and ineptitude that plague the state's public education scene. A seemingly bellicose education minister, V Sivankutty, and a pompously self-righteous higher education minister, R Bindu, have reduced the school and higher education sectors into political laboratories, where they conduct reckless experiments with arrogance and incompetence, forcing students to avoid public education institutions. Like her predecessor K T Jaleel in the previous LDF govt, minister Bindu has developed a strong notion of mistaking law and lawmakers as one and the same. If Jaleel courted controversy by toppling the university examination system to offer 'justice' to an engineering student, Dr Bindu found nothing wrong in changing the engineering entrance prospectus arbitrarily in an attempt to ensure 'justice' to a section of students who had been failed by the very policies of her own govt. She publicly insinuated that her sense of justice was somehow superior to that of the high court, which struck down the last-minute changes. The loss of marks—up to 40 in some cases—for state board students in the entrance ranking is a fact. Genuine complaints have been raised over the past five years. But how did a formula introduced by the govt in 2011 to level the playing field in engineering admissions backfire? The answer lies in the inflated results of the state higher secondary board, especially in the post-Covid era. When the state govt focused more on 'feel-good' factors as on many other fronts, Sivankutty excelled in the experiment by notoriously liberalizing higher secondary exam evaluations. The figures say it all. The number of students scoring full A+ in all subjects skyrocketed to 48,383 in 2021, up from 18,510 the year before. This plummeted to 28,450 in 2022, then slowly climbed to 33,815 in 2023 and 39,242 in 2024, before dipping to 30,145 in 2025. The fact that only 14,244 candidates scored full A+ in 2019 explains what went wrong. When the standard deviation is calculated considering the overall performance of students across boards, the high marks of state board students are bound to suffer a drastic cut. 'For standardization, marks obtained by students over multiple years are considered,' said a former commissioner of entrance examinations, requesting anonymity. He said the new method proposed by the govt to replace the 2011 formula may also prove ineffective over time. Since the new system would plug mark losses, it may actually prompt the govt to continue liberal valuation. If CBSE too adopts a similar approach, it could jeopardize the edge the govt plans to create for the state board students. What's urgently needed, he said, is a competent committee to study the issue and develop a fair mechanism for all meritorious students, across the boards. 'If we don't treat the root cause, the disease will resurface in new forms,' he added. Academic and scientist Achuthsankar S Nair, who was on the panel that devised the original formula in 2011, said the formula is scientifically sound and the grievances are genuine—at least for meritorious state board students. 'Serious fluctuations in parameters over the years may have turned the standardization process into a bane for some,' he said. If the sole aim is justice, then using only entrance exam marks might be an option. But if the goal is to level the playing field, the govt may have to give extra weightage to underprivileged sections, without hurting others. Experts agree: A solution to this complex issue is likely to be just as complex. If the entrance exam conundrum requires a more scientific temper and constant monitoring, the plight of higher education in arts and science colleges in the state has almost reached a point beyond redemption. The fight between the governor (who is also the chancellor of state universities) and the state govt over supremacy in university affairs has failed the student community. There is no permanent vice chancellor in 12 state universities. At least 40% of PG and 30% of UG seats remained vacant last year—a figure likely to worsen this year. 'The higher education sector in Kerala could collapse entirely within the next five years,' said former Kerala University pro-vice chancellor and writer J Prabhash. 'Courses that were once in high demand now have no takers. Academic activity is no longer a priority on campuses.' As student mobility and exposure to better opportunities increase, the young generation is looking elsewhere. Our society has lost faith in our public sector institutions, he said, noting that Kerala has failed to establish even a single institution of academic excellence. While the tussle between the governor and the higher education department has given a political opportunity to CPM and Sangh Parivar to engage in a public showdown, the entrance fiasco, which disadvantaged state board students, has already put a break on the migration of CBSE students to the state board for Plus Two studies. The declining intake in govt and aided schools has also ripped apart the govt's claim that public schools are on a path of revival in the state. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
NDTV
4 days ago
- General
- NDTV
Kerala Plus Two SAY Result 2025 Out, Check Direct Link To Download Marksheet
Kerala Plus Two SAY Result 2025 Out: The Kerala Department of Higher Secondary Education (DHSE) has announced the results of the Class 12 Save A Year (SAY) examinations 2025. Students who appeared for the supplementary exams can now access their Kerala Plus Two SAY scores on the official websites, and Education Minister V Sivankutty officially declared the results for 3,70,642 students who took the board exams earlier this year. A total of 2,88,394 candidates successfully passed, equivalent to 77.81%. This marks a slight decline of 0.88 percentage points compared to the previous year. The DHSE conducted the SAY exams from June 23 to June 27 in two sessions: the morning shift from 9.30 AM to 12:15 PM and the afternoon shift from 2 PM to 4:45 PM. These exams offered students who did not pass in the initial round a chance to improve their scores. Revaluation requests were accepted prior to the SAY exams, and revised marks were released on July 1. Notably, 57 schools achieved a perfect pass rate this year. These include six government schools, 19 aided schools, 22 unaided schools, and 10 special institutions. How To Check Kerala Plus Two SAY Result 2025: Students are advised to verify all details on the marksheet and keep a copy for academic and admission purposes.
