HISTORICAL
ADVANTAGES
Historically Kerala has lots of advantages. Kerala ranks high amongst other states and in
par with some of the advanced countries in the world in various socio-economic
aspects. It is a fact that Kerala occupies
an enviable position in terms of human development especially health, education
and women empowerment. It is reported
that Kerala had an indigenous system of education embracing traditions, religion
and caste even during the pre-British period. Education system centered in royal courts,
temples and families of aristocrats, artisans and peasants had a pivotal role
in the development of people. Researchers found that educational facilities
have been quite widespread in every region during the end of 18th
century (Nair, 1989). The fact itself gives a view on traces
of education development in the state; in 1951, the literacy rate of Keralities
was 40.47 % against the national average 16.67%.
The developmental history of Kerala in the field of education is
replete with the generous and farsighted visionaries of the erstwhile princely
states of Kerala, Christian missionaries and the various other religions, especially
the Christian minority.
Royal
patronage
The
history of education in Kerala can be traced from the Sangam period (3rd Centry). Kerala happened to witness a cultural
and academic revival about 800 AD with the re-establishment of Chera power
under Kulasekhara Varma. He established Padasala (school) and Salai (Kalsasala/college).
The temple universities and the
libraries attached to it called the Sabha Mutts were centers of Vedic studies and learning of subjects
like the Vedas, the Upanishads,
the Mimamsas and Vyakarana. Earliest
versions of the Muffs were founded by Adi Sankara and it became a Centre for
specializing in higher branches of learning. Apparently, this Gurukula system of education
attracted a large number people to these centers. The Ay rulers in the 9th
and 1oth centuries were instrumental in providing educational facilities along
with building temples*.
The
rulers of Kerala were greatly convinced about the modern education and
inclusive approach towards learning. Travancore (South), Kochi (Central) and
Malabar (South) were under various rulers in the early period. Way back to 1817 the Queen of Travancore Gouri
Parvathi Bayi in her royal rescript under the advice of the Resident Colonel
Munro declared that "the state
should defray the whole cost of education of its people, in order that there might be no backwardness in the state”.
The first Reform Bill in 1832 paved the way for English medium education in
Kerala.
From the
second half of the 19th century onwards government started
intensively involve in educational reforms and policies. During the reign of Dewan T. Madhava Rao
(1862-1874), government framed an ambitious education policy and constituted a
fund to establish government schools, central
vernacular school, Taluk level
schools, and teachers training institute. He also encouraged private agencies
to start schools and set up a text
book committee to translate and write books of all kinds (Aiya 1906).
The Raja's Free School established by Sri Swathi
Thirunal Rama Varma in 1834 gradually became the Maharaja's High School
and later the Maharaja's College (1866), which is the nucleus of the University
of Travancore (Kerala) established by Sri Chitra Tirunal Balarama Varma in 1937. The reign of Sri Mulam Tirunal Rama Varma
(1885-1924) was a giant strides in the field of education especially in the
wake of the Hunter Commission. The principle of free primary education and the
new education code made pivotal changes in the system. Also, in the absence of a University, the
Govemment entered into agreement with the Benares Hindu University and Madras
Government to reserve seats for the students from Travancore in Medical and Engineering
Courses. When the state witnessed an
unprecedented increase in the number of the educated unemployed, His Highness' decided
to initiate Training Corps and Teaching Residential University. An
English School was opened at Mattancheny in 1818. Similarly, the
Royal Kingdom of Cochin in 1845
established a school which was upgraded to a college in 1875 and in June 1925
the college acquired the name Maharajas College.
When the Colonel John Munroe assumed charge as the
Dewan of Travancore, he played an instrumental role in the abolition of slavery
in Travancore in 1813. In the same year, Maharani Gouri
Lakshmi Bai (1810-15) of the Travancore granted 16 acres of land, 500 rupees in
cash, and timber for the construction of college buildings on the banks of the
Meenachil River. In in 1817 the CMS College came into existence. Among the colleges started in the Malabar region, the Zamorin's
Guruvayurappan College established in 1879 is the oldest.
The Malabar Christian College (1907);
the Union Christian College Aluva (1921); the St. Berchmans' College, Changanacheny (1922); St. Teresa's
College, Emakulam (1925), the first women's college to be opened in the private
sector; the Sacred Heart
College, Thevara (1944); SD College, Alappuzha (1946); St. Albert's College, Ernakulam (1947);
and Sree Kerala Varma College, Trichur (1947) provided
fillip to the higher education sector of Kerala.
Missionaries
The beginning of the 18th century of Kerala was witnessed by
the vibrant presence of Christian Missionaries. Their efforts to attract the
backward classes and the depressed communities and the special attention to
spread English education attracted the entire
section of the society. The London
Missionary Society (LMS) in the South, the Church Missionary Society
(CMS) in the central and northern areas; and the Basel Mission in Malabar
region played a significant role in the social uplift of the society. Governments also encouraged the missionaries
to establish schools and promote English education across the state.
Social Reformers
Beginning of the 19th
century also witnessed by multitude of reform activities particularly by
Christian community. Rev.Fr. Kuriakose Elias Chavara, the man behind
the concept "a school along with
every church" made a revolutionary change in the educational panorama
of the state, which subsequently taken up by all the Christian churches. The resource mobilization initiatives by the Catholics "5
percent extrication" where each housewife of the parishes was
instructed to handover one handful of rice per day (roughly equal to five
percent of the consumption expenditure) to the local church once in a month to
support the educational endeavors of church catalyzed the establishment of
schools.
It is also worth mentioning the social and
religious organizations like The Nair Service Society (NSS) founded by Mannathu
Padmanabhan in 1914 for the socio-economic progress of the Nairs; Sree Narayana
Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam founded in 1903 by Sree Narayana Guru; and the
Muslim Educational Society (MES) by Dr.
P.K.Abdul Gafoor in 1964. They established schools, colleges and other
educational institutions in different parts of India which contributed for the
inclusive education of the state.
It is
imperative to note that education policies of state was pro-poor and inclusive
from the very beginning. In 1859 itself,
the Government started its first school for girls at Karamana in Trivandrum. Also, in order to promote girls
education government abolished the fees for girls in schools. In 1865, government started initiatives to providing
educational facilities to the backward and depressed classes in the state. Another
important educational effort initiated
by Madhava Rao for the educational development was the introduction of
'proverty' (village) school scheme in 1871. According to this scheme, one school in every poverty
(village) was started. Vernacular
schools separately for girls were organized
in 1867 which removed the reservation on the part of the parents to send their daughters to mixed schools.
It was
in 1895, the government for the first time in the state took a determined effort by giving grants to schools for
backward communities (Aiya 1906).
The introduction mid-day meals scheme was a big relief to local people. The decision in 1936 to provide lump-sum
grants to depressed community students was widely welcomed. Further, the report
of the Educational Reforms committee of 1933 and Education Reorganization committee
of 1945 and the subsequent decision to declare primary education free and
compulsory in the state in 1955 provided a great impetus to the education
movement in the state.
THE DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND
When the
whole country is blessed with the demographic dividend, Kerala is in the verge
of losing this charm. Currently, half of
the population in Kerala is young. The
dividend will become a disaster to the state sooner or later. It is a fact that in Kerala more students are in high school than at primary levels and the
ageing population gives us a disturbing trends. The elderly population in Kerala is
leading with a tremendous increase of 10 percent in 2001. It is predicted that the number of elderly in
Kerala will reach 7.2 million or 20 percent of the population in 2021 and 37
percent in 2051 (Rajan, et.al., 1999). The
average age of Kerala’s population at 33 years has already surpassed the 29
years projected for the country by 2020.
According to Economic Survey 2014-15 due to
substantial fertility decline in the south during the last two decades, the
south is ahead in the demographic transition compared to the north. It calls for the state to actively pursue policies
to garner the benefits of the demographic dividend to the already bulging labor
force and to prepare for surge in various other social and economic demands of
the society. In this context it is worth
noticing to be reminded of the statement “the industrialized countries became rich before they became old, while
developing countries will become old before they become rich” (Kalache et.al,
2005).
THE FOREIGN DIASPORA
Ninety percentage of Kerala's 23.63 lakh diaspora are in the
various Middle East countries. It is found that the United Arab Emirates
has attracted 38.7 percent of the Kerala emigrants and Saudi Arabia accommodates
25.2 percent Malayalis. Kuwait and Qatar
also have good number of Keratitis. Among the countries outside the Gulf region,
the principal ones are the USA and the United Kingdom. The Kerala Migration Survey-2014 reported that about 19
percent of households in Kerala had an emigrant. Further, it pointed that the migration still continues mainly because
of the state’s inability to provide suitable jobs for the increasing number of
educated youths (K C Zachariah and S Irudaya Rajan).
Though the rate of migration is in the
increasing pace, the return also in increase. The number of
return emigrants (REM) to Kerala in 2014 was 12.48 lakhs, which is about 52
percent of the number of emigrants. The corresponding numbers were 11.50 lakhs
in 2011. The economic downturn and regional
unrest in the Middle East expedite the reverse exodus of Kerala workforce to
their homeland. As Kerala aims at
creating a state of efficiency, competitiveness, services and market delivery
in education by 2030, it becomes a pressing need to make the human resource
efficient. This makes the government to take care of the returned.
UNEMPLOYMENT
COUPLED WITH UN-EMPLOYABILITY
The dual challenge of unemployment and
un-employability is a cause of concern for economists and policy makers. Though Kerala is known for its literacy, the
employability rate is not very heartening which is generally below twenty five
percent. The State Skill Development Report reported that the current
population of Kerala, based on the census 2011 is 3.33 crores. Out of that,
2.82 crores are literate. The literacy percentage in rural areas is 92.92 and
that in urban area is 94.99. About 84 lakhs are in the age group of 6 – 25. The
urban population has registered an increase of 92.72%, whereas the rural
population has decreased by 25.96% during the last decade.
The employment rate, as per National Sample
Survey of India, is 12.6%. It is
unfortunate to learn that more than 50% students have been failing in BTech. examinations
conducted by universities in the state. Adding worry to this fact,
employability of this category is staggeringly below 20%. Kerala has the
highest rate of unemployment among the big States in the country. It is thrice the national average (2.3 per cent). Also, unemployment rate is
higher in rural areas as compared to urban areas, and joblessness is evident
with females. It’s hard to realize that the rate of youth unemployment (between
15 and 29) is 21.7 per cent in rural areas and 18 per cent in urban areas. The
unemployment rate of women is 47.4 per cent whereas 9.7 per cent of men. The
reports state that about 43 lakhs of persons, out of a total about 240 lakhs of
adults, are currently registered with the Employment Exchanges in the state
seeking employment. At the same time, a study done by the Gulati Institute
of Finance and Taxation in 2016 reported that over 40 lakhs (4 million) migrant labor are in Kerala with an annual
arrival rate of 2.35 lakhs. It was
estimated that a sum of Rs 25,000 crores going outside the state each year as
wages to the migrant workers. It also a
gives us a caution to do away from the attitude of aversion to vocational
trades, as people always love to embrace professional degrees like medicine and
engineering ignoring their aptitude and interest.
It is equally important to
note the demand-supply mismatch of skill in the state. As the service sector
contributes to around 60% of the State GDP, and more focus is required in the
traditional Industries like agriculture, manufacturing and construction, it
becomes a dire need of skilled man power who can meet the skill requirements of
the industry. The State Skill Development Report says that “there is a severe mismatch between the talents and skills, required by
the Industry and skill-sets possessed by the population. This results in
majority of the people being educated but unemployed. Hence Kerala needs to
focus on skill enhancement if it has to effectively cater to the demands of the
Global economy and in the process move to a stronger economic position in the
country”.
