Thiruvananthapuram, July 3 (IANS) While Kerala's ruling Left takes pride in the quality of education in the schools in the state, a cutting remark by Culture Minister Saji Cherian on the prevailing academic standards has left his cabinet colleague and Education Minister V. Sivankutty fuming and trying to control the damage.

With the new academic year just a few weeks old, Cherian, who is known for being outspoken - which saw him quitting as state minister a few years back over a remark on the Constitution before he was reinstated, left many, especially Sivankutty in a spot of bother, when he said many students who pass Class 10 examinations in the state do not even know to read or write. He further said that in the past to get the minimum pass mark of 210 marks in Class 10 public examinations was difficult, but now it’s all pass and any drop in the pass percentage is seen as a reflection of poor governance of the state government.

Cherian's remark created ripples and a cornered Sivankutty on Wednesday took potshots at his colleague by citing his present illness.

"You all know Cherian as due to his remarks, he has run into trouble. So now he is down with fever, we will give him time to correct himself as what he said is not sure," Sivankutty said.

A look into the 2024 SSLC Class 10 results, showed of the 4,26,892 students who appeared, 4,25,565 students became eligible for higher studies, with the pass percentage recording a high of 99.69 per cent. The pass percentage, about three to four decades back, was between 55 to 60 per cent.

Meanwhile, according to the grapevine, the dispute between the two ministers relates to their past differences as both rose from student organisations and while Sivankutty was the state chief, Cherian was a district leader and they had some issues then.