CHENNAI: CPI state secretary R Mutharasan has urged the State government to intervene and prevent government higher secondary schools from denying Class 11 admissions based on students’ marks.

In a statement, the Left party leader said complaints have surfaced that several government schools were rejecting applicants with average scores in class 10 and admitting only high scorers. “This practice contradicts the State’s commitment to social justice and is unjust to students from marginalised backgrounds,” he said, batting for the students.

Mutharasan highlighted the State’s various initiatives, such as the breakfast scheme and Pudhumai Penn initiative, which have helped reduce school dropouts and increase higher education enrolment, particularly among girls. He noted that 241 government schools achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in the Class 10 exams last year, and teachers were rightly appreciated for this success, the CPI leader said.

He warned that the trend of private schools admitting only top scorers for profit-driven motives should not be allowed to influence government institutions, too. “Teaching quality should be judged by how much students improve, not just by results,” Mutharasan said.

The CPI urged the government and the School Education Department to ensure all students seeking class 11 admission in government schools are enrolled without discrimination based on marks, which cannot be the criterion under a social justice government.