The educational sector in Kerala is presently passing through a period marked by numerous complexities and challenges. Both public education and higher education in Kerala are facing serious crises today, especially in the context of the implementation of the New Education Policy of 2020 and the socio-cultural and economic transformations brought about by globalization.
Although Kerala is often described as a hub of education, a model state, and a paradise of literacy, there are clear indications that many of these claims are superficial. While Malayalis continue to migrate to other states in India and abroad for higher education, people from outside Kerala rarely come to Kerala in search of education. This itself substantiates the reality.
The decline in both the quality and quantity of public and higher education in Kerala should awaken us to the seriousness of the situation. The deficiencies in the curriculum and teaching methods at the school level must be addressed. Even students who secure full A+ grades in Class Ten examinations are often unable to use Malayalam or English without mistakes. More alarmingly, some students are unable to correctly write even their own names or the names of their educational institutions. This reveals the depth of our deterioration. Another challenge faced by Malayali students is the decline in communication skills. Since Kerala lacks the “village system” prevalent in many other Indian states, and because each household tends to remain isolated, socialization in Kerala is comparatively limited. This reality often affects children’s communication abilities and makes students introverted and excessively timid. As successive governments openly and covertly design syllabi aimed at imposing their ideological frameworks upon children, essential values such as democracy, secularism, truth, justice, love, tolerance, God-consciousness, equality, civic responsibility, and respect for parents, elders, teachers, women, and the marginalized are increasingly forgotten. It must also be noted that there is a serious lack of opportunities to practically implement and internalize what is learned as part of the curriculum.
In the field of public education, discontinuing the policy of all-pass promotion and ensuring that students are effectively taught to read, write, and speak at least Malayalam, English, and Hindi properly would contribute significantly to improving educational standards. Reducing the importance of English, an international language, will in no way benefit students. The curriculum must be designed in such a way as to foster critical thinking and value-based awareness among students.
Educational systems must also include extracurricular activities that enrich students’ communication skills and help them become more outgoing. Alongside this, physical education classes should be made compulsory for children. Training that enables students to live in harmony with nature and society, as well as opportunities for skill development, should begin from the school level itself.
The challenges faced by the higher education sector are merely a continuation of these realities. When students lacking foundational knowledge and adequate language proficiency enter higher education, a decline in standards becomes inevitable. In some universities, attendance is not considered for internal assessment, resulting in a growing tendency among students to avoid attending classes altogether. Influenced by distorted ideas propagated through certain campus films, many students have come to believe that classes in higher educational institutions are merely nominal, that attending classes is unnecessary, and that higher education campuses are places only for songs, dances, and extracurricular activities.
Many seasoned teachers and scholars are left astonished when they witness Boards of Studies framing syllabi not in accordance with the standards of excellent universities, but rather to safeguard ideological agendas and selfish interests. When persons with scholarship and experience are excluded from university Boards of Studies and teacher union activists are installed in their place, one must understand that the grave of higher education has already been dug. Those who realize this reality increasingly send their children outside Kerala to study the syllabi of institutions such as the University of Delhi and other Central Universities. Teachers who are incapable of learning and teaching new syllabi, or unwilling to make the effort required, further accelerate this process.
Governments in Kerala often fail to pay adequate attention to introducing innovative programmes—especially in the aided sector—or sanctioning teaching posts in educational institutions. The aided courses sanctioned in 105 aided colleges in 2020 have still not been granted permanent teaching posts. When classes are handled by temporary guest lecturers without continuity, both the quality and discipline of education are compromised. Under the pretext of financial constraints, the removal of proportional value for postgraduate teachers has adversely affected the quality of postgraduate education, the standard of student projects, and the research activities of teachers. Consequently, the decline in the teacher-student ratio and in research standards has negatively affected students, the quality of mentoring, and the accreditation of institutions.
Outside Kerala, quality colleges are transforming themselves into autonomous colleges, private universities, and deemed universities. However, colleges in Kerala are compelled merely to watch this development due to the rigid opposition of political parties. Authorities fear that if institutions grow independently, they may no longer remain under political control, and this anxiety has held Kerala back from progressing in this direction. One hopes that the new government will bring meaningful reforms in this sphere.
Educational institutions are engaged in the task of forming students from varied social and psychological backgrounds into cultured and disciplined individuals. However, when organizations and political parties exaggerate isolated incidents occurring within institutions and place educational establishments under constant pressure, institutions are forced to expend their energy, time, and financial resources merely to confront such attacks. This results in a serious loss to society. Likewise, when governments and universities misuse their authority to keep educational institutions under control, and institutions are forced to resort to legal measures to protect their rights, valuable resources that ought to have been spent for society are wasted.
Today, a dangerous cultural shift is evident wherein students, parents, and society increasingly believe that teachers who detect malpractice in examinations and authorities who take action against copying are the real offenders, rather than recognizing copying itself as wrong. Politicians and media that encourage this mentality are among the greatest curses of our times. It is essential today to encourage teachers and authorities to fulfil their duties and to educate students that malpractice is morally wrong. Otherwise, this culture may render many teachers indifferent. Its natural consequence would be the emergence of an undisciplined generation.
There is an important reality that governments, often reluctant to invest in education, must understand: if Kerala once stood at the forefront of human resource development, the primary reason was the investment made by governments and various educational institutions. Governments that collect educational cess and other taxes have the responsibility to utilize these funds for the intended purpose. Money allocated for education and research is never a loss; rather, it is an investment in society. Therefore, governments should never exhibit stinginess in investing in the educational sector.
It is increasingly evident that governments and universities are adopting methods of tightly restricting aided educational institutions through various laws and regulations. If governments are willing to allow aided institutions to function with legitimate freedom, fill vacant teaching posts, sanction positions for new courses, and provide financial assistance, it would mark the beginning of a new era in the educational sector.
Another important issue concerns the minority rights guaranteed under Article 30 of the Constitution of India. While this Article protects the right of all minorities based on religion or language to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice, there appears to be a growing tendency among authorities to undermine minority rights. Denying or questioning the right of minority institutions to select qualified administrators is unbecoming of any elected government. Governments attain greatness when they protect minority institutions. As the number of students in both public and higher education decreases, the practice of abolishing teaching posts must be discontinued. When the quality of public education improves, parents will naturally return their children to comparatively affordable public educational institutions.
The increasing availability of alcohol and narcotic substances around educational institutions is a grave reality that often misleads even young children. Governments must urgently take steps to eliminate the social evils prevailing within campuses and their surroundings. Another major villain of the present age is the mobile phone. Due to the absence of legal backing, even teachers are unable to prohibit mobile phones in classrooms. As a result, students increasingly become addicted to games, immoral content, and social media. Governments must demonstrate the courage to take effective action against this menace.
Another important necessity is to provide teachers with the freedom and authority required for proper discipline. Many parents proudly claim that the older generation received exemplary discipline through the guidance and correction of their teachers, yet the same parents often rush to educational institutions to create problems whenever a teacher merely reprimands their child. Such situations frequently render teachers indifferent. At the same time, it must also be remembered that teachers occasionally exceed the limits of their legitimate authority.
The unhealthy politicization prevailing within educational institutions and the support extended to it by political parties play a major role in destroying the academic atmosphere and discipline of institutions. This, unfortunately, remains a distinctive feature of Kerala.
The author shares these reflections on education, grounded in personal experience, with the intention of drawing the urgent attention of society and authorities to the challenges and decline in the public and higher education sectors of Kerala. If governments, society, and educational agencies recognize the pitfalls and deterioration in this field and move towards effective remedies, it will pave the way for a renewed educational culture and, consequently, for the upliftment of society itself.
Rev. Dr. James John Mangalath
Director, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering and Technology, Pala
