The Neelakurinji Examination, the Senior Higher Diploma examination conducted by the Malayalam Mission under the Department of Culture, Government of Kerala, will be held on Saturday, July 5, at Adarsha Vidyalaya, Chembur, the designated examination centre for Mumbai. The examination will be conducted from 10:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., and all candidates have been instructed to report to the centre before 9:30 a.m.
The Neelakurinji examination is the highest level in the Malayalam Mission’s language education programme. Conducted by the General Education Department, Government of Kerala, the qualification has been declared equivalent to the SSLC (Class 10) examination of the Kerala General Education Department. Students who successfully complete the examination are therefore eligible to apply for examinations such as those conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC).
A total of 120 students from the Malayalam Mission chapters in Bahrain, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kuwait, Delhi, Pune, Tamil Nadu and Mumbai will appear for the examination this year. Besides the three examination centres in Kerala—Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode—the examination will also be conducted at nine centres outside the state, including Mumbai.
The Mumbai Chapter has seven candidates appearing for this year’s examination. After completing their regular training at their respective study centres, the students underwent intensive coaching by expert faculty from the Malayalam Mission headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram and experienced Neelakurinji teachers from the Mumbai Chapter.
The Mumbai Chapter has consistently delivered commendable results, with 21 students successfully clearing the inaugural Neelakurinji examination held in March 2024, followed by 19 successful candidates in the June 2025 examination. The chapter is confident that this year’s candidates will continue the tradition of academic excellence.
The participation of children born and brought up outside Kerala in the Malayalam language’s highest-level examination is a matter of immense pride for the Malayalam Mission Mumbai Chapter and a testimony to the sustained efforts of its teachers, volunteers and language enthusiasts in promoting Malayalam among the younger generation.
Former Mumbai Chapter President and noted novelist Balakrishnan extended his best wishes to all the students appearing for the examination and congratulated the teachers whose dedicated efforts have prepared them for this important milestone.