Kerala Minister says many students who have cleared SSLC exam don't know how to read or write properly

At a time when the state government boasts of the remarkable standards of its education system, Kerala Fisheries Minister Saji Cheriyan has made critical remarks about it and said many students who pass the SSLC examinations do not have the skills to write or read properly. He said earlier it was tough to score the minimum pass mark of 210 but now everybody was clearing the examination.

"But, a significant percentage of them do not know how to read or write properly," he said at a programme here on Saturday.

If anybody fails in the examination, it would be portrayed as the failure of the state government, the minister said, adding that it was good for the government to be liberal in the evaluation for SSLC examinations.

But, the present general education minister V Sivankutty, who already made it clear that the practice was not right, is expected to bring changes in it, Cheriyan added.

A pass percentage of 99.69 per cent was registered in the Class 10 Secondary School Leaving Certificate examinations in Kerala for the academic year 2023-24 when the results were announced last month.

A total of 4,25,563 students cleared the examination for an overall pass percentage of 99.69 per cent, officials said.