Govt. stays implementation of minimum marks in Kerala schools

The government has temporarily halted the implementation of a minimum marks policy for classes VIII, IX, and X in the 2026-27 academic year. This policy, which was a significant and contentious decision made by the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, aimed to enhance the quality of education by requiring a 30% minimum marks threshold in the theory component of each subject.

The LDF introduced this policy in 2024 to address concerns that students were not achieving desired learning outcomes. Despite opposition from the pro-CPI(M) Kerala School Teachers’ Association, Students’ Federation of India, and the Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad, the LDF government began its implementation during the 2024-25 academic year for class VIII students and extended it to class VIII and IX students in the 2025-26 year.

For the 2026-27 academic year, the policy was intended to cover classes VIII to X. Alongside this, the LDF government emphasized strengthening continuous evaluation and adopting merit-based assessments. They also launched a learning support program to assist students who failed to meet the minimum 30% mark requirement in annual exams, allowing them to reappear for the exams.

However, concerns arose that the decision to suspend this policy would negatively affect education standards. The Left-affiliated All Kerala School Teachers Union expressed worry that abandoning these reforms, introduced to ensure students met academic standards, would erode trust in public education. No prior discussion took place before the decision was made, according to AKSTU general secretary O.K. Jayakrishnan, who called for a reconsideration of staying the minimum mark implementation.