Foreseeing the possibility that a section of students in Kerala will not opt for higher education outside the state owing to the COVID-19 crisis, the state Higher Education department has decided to increase the number of seats in graduate and post graduate programmes in universities.

The Higher Education department issued an order on June 6 instructing universities affiliated to the state to increase seats.

The order says that a considerable increase in the number of applicants for degree and PG programmes in arts and science colleges in the state is expected for the academic year 2020-21, as a result of the peculiar situation that has emerged following the outbreak of COVID-19.

“It’s expected that there will be a considerable increase in the number of applicants as the likelihood of students in the state seeking admission in institutions outside the state is less. The outstanding performance of state universities in NAAC, NIRF rankings and the timely announcement of results has also prompted students to choose universities inside the state,” says the order issued by the principal secretary of the department, Usha Titus.

For degree courses, a maximum of up to 70 seats can be increased, for science subjects an increase of 25 seats is allowed while 3 seats can be added in the post graduate programmes for arts and commerce subjects.

If the existing seats are higher than this in any of the courses, that can continue as is. The decision on increasing the seats can be decided by the colleges concerned. Universities should allow the increased seats for this academic year itself, the order says. This should be included in this year’s allotment itself, without generating additional burden on the government.