Thiruvananthapuram | School students in Kerala now need to obtain a certain minimum score of marks to clear each subject to be promoted to the next higher class, as the government on Wednesday decided to implement a "subject minimum" system in examinations in various classes.

A cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave a nod to implementing the new system in schools that follow the state syllabus -- as part of efforts to improve academic standards.

The Vijayan government has come up with the minimum mark system amid criticism of the quality of school education in state schools and against the system of promoting all students on to the higher classes.

The subject minimum would be implemented in Class 8 in the academic year 2024-25, in Class 8 and 9 during 2025-26, and in the Class 8, 9, and 10 during the academic year 2026-27, a CMO statement said.

As an initial step, a programme would be formulated to improve academic standards in the classes from 1 to 10 with the participation of the general public, the CMO said.

This is the first step towards implementing the recommendations that came up during a recent educational conclave organised here, which was aimed at designing programmes to improve the quality of the public education system, it added.