Kerala launches AI portal Mukulam to give government school students free entrance-test coaching

The Kerala government has launched an artificial intelligence-based learning portal, Mukulam, to provide free preparation material and practice support to government school students appearing for competitive entrance examinations.

Minister for General Education N. Samsudheen inaugurated the portal here on Tuesday as part of the State government's 100-day programme. He said the platform, developed by the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), would help students in public schools compete on a more equal footing with those who can afford private coaching.

Initiatives such as Mukulam would help the higher secondary sector achieve excellence, the Minister said, adding that schools should implement the programme effectively.

According to the department, the portal offers free AI-based training for entrance tests such as NEET, JEE and CUET and for admission to the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER). The KVPY aptitude test was also listed by the Minister among the examinations covered. Digital learning material in about 10 subjects across the Science, Commerce and Humanities streams is available on the website.

AI has been integrated into the platform to identify the learning requirements of individual students and to provide the support and practice each of them needs. Officials said the portal is expected to benefit students who are unable to take private tuition because of financial difficulties.

After a pilot run in 25 selected schools, Mukulam has now been extended to all higher secondary and vocational higher secondary students in the State.

On the same occasion, the Minister inaugurated a one-day workshop for principals of higher secondary schools. Director of General Education Arun K. Vijayan presided over the function. KITE Chief Executive Director K. Anvar Sadath was present.

KITE is the technology wing of the State's General Education department and runs several school-level digital learning programmes. Competitive examination coaching in Kerala, as elsewhere in the country, is largely provided by private institutes, and fees for such coaching are often beyond the reach of families with limited incomes. Several States have introduced free online coaching platforms in recent years to reduce this dependence.

The launch is the latest in a series of measures the State government says are aimed at improving learning outcomes in public schools and widening access to higher education. The effectiveness of the portal will depend on how widely students use it and on the quality of the material offered, which will become clear as the academic year progresses.