Total literacy and weak economic base!

KERALA'S unique pattern of educational development has now reached a stage where it is stagnating and steadily deteriorating.

While most of the other parts of the country, particularly the Hindi heartland of India, is struggling hard to reach the elusive goal of `Education for All' (EFA), Kerala attained the ideal of universal primary education and near-total literacy a decade ago. Almost total enrolment and very low drop-out rate at the primary level have ensured the State the status of educationally the most advanced part of the country.

Kerala's much praised development model is considered to be the outcome of this universal basic education and total literacy, the foundations of which were laid as early as in the 19th century by the enlightened princely rulers of Travancore and Cochin and the Christian missionaries who promoted education among the masses, as part of their evangelical work.

Various social reform movements led by Sri Narayana Guru, Ayyankali and Vakkom Moulavi gave great fillip to educational work among a wider section of society.

Socially and economically lower castes and classes of people fought and won their right to education in schools run by the State where they were originally deprived admission by religiously conservative rulers, particularly of the princely State of erstwhile Travancore. This fight for educational right and equality is an inspiring episode in the history of Kerala's social and political advancement. But these are all things of the past.

Now when we take a panoramic look at the educational scene of Kerala, the picture is rather dismal, in the sense that, inspite of the wide reach of elementary education, the standard of education at all levels is deplorably poor.

Development economists like the Nobel-laureate Dr. Amartya Sen, United Nations agencies like United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and even the World Bank that does not subscribe to the ideals of Kerala model of development, were all praise for the State's amazing achievements in the social sector, inspite of the low level of economic development and per capita income. But, of late, serious doubts have been expressed in different quarters as to whether this model of development is a sustainable one with a poor primary sector (agriculture) and a weak secondary sector (industry).

They say that this present level of human development is being maintained mainly with the remittances of the foreign resident Malayalees which was to the tune of Rs. 3,530 crores in 1998, according to one estimate. Then it comes to 10 per cent of the State Domestic Product (SDP). But there are people who maintain that the NRI remittances are more than double of this estimate and form nearly one fourth of the SDP.

Whatever be the truth in these widely varying claims, the fact remains that the State's economic base is very weak and the present level of social development is unsustainable, let alone the question of enhancing it without strengthening the economic life, particularly the industrial sector. Taking into consideration the simple fact that it was widespread education that contributed to Kerala's progress in the past, experts have begun examining the level, quality and content of the educational system in the State. Apart from the universality of elementary education and the totality of literacy of a precarious nature, there is nothing in the educational life of Kerala to commend upon. One recent study revealed the shocking fact that the standard of primary education in the State was poorer than that of Bihar which is considered to be socially and educationally the most backward State of India. The reasons are not far to seek. More than 98 per cent of the sizeable educational expense is spent on salary of teachers and other establishment items with very little left for educational reform and improvement of quality. The recent long overdue reform of primary education in the State was possible only with the generous funding by the World Bank, which was lavishly spent on fanciful reform ideas under the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP).

There is now a general awareness that any meaningful change in the polity, society and economy can be effected only through a well thought-out new educational agenda for the State. But there is no unanimity among development experts or educational thinkers as to what should be the nature of this new agenda. Those who are great enthusiasts of globalisation think that Kerala's economic salvation lies in Information Technology (IT) and computer based education. The present avenues of jobs, particularly in foreign countries, with attractive salaries for computer scientists at all levels, attract them to this computer based educational change to the exclusion of almost all other contents and values of education.

A three-day seminar on IT@school, jointly organised by the Department of General Education and the Department of Information Technology of the Government of Kerala, brought out a beautiful roadmap of IT-based education in the schools of the State. An exhibition by computer companies was part of this seminar. The discussions at the seminar did not take into consideration the overall ground realities of the educational situation in the State and the gains that the State has made in the social sector which, in any case, should never be allowed to erode. This new urban-centred, middle and upper middle class-oriented agenda of educational reforms tends to throw away the baby along with the bath water. Nobody is against information technology and the use of it in classrooms, to close the gaps of educational resources available to our children.

But the new enthusiasts for technology seem to forget other social and developmental values of education, the neglect of which would deflect education from the living child to morally neutral technology.

Moral values or socially and economically relevant moral values are equally important as knowledge and technological and other skills in education. This fact seems to have been overlooked by the makers of the new roadmap to IT-enabled education.

A parallel non-governmental effort, without much fanfare or publicity to evolve a new agenda for educational reform in the State has begun with the Institute of Social Sciences of New Delhi taking the initiative in this matter.

The aim is to closely integrate the State's education with the developmental needs and challenges of Kerala in this new century. It is a joint effort of economic experts, social scientists, educational thinkers, administrators, teachers, parents and the enlightened section of the public.

A preliminary meeting was held in Thiruvananthapuram to evolve a broad framework of discussions in this regard. The plan is to hold six regional seminars at various centres of Kerala on specific areas of education, beginning with pre-primary to higher education, including technical education and research.

At the end, in the last week of December, the final agenda will be formulated and unveiled at a four-day plenary session.

This session will be attended by Dr. Amartya Sen, who is a great admirer of Kerala model of development and one who knows the strengths and weaknesses of this model.

His presence and active guidance at the final stage is expected to give a new meaningful direction to the deliberations and decisions.

One common tendency we notice in this country is that the problems of education are often discussed without taking into consideration the level of socio-economic development of society and its present needs and future requirements for a relevant direction of development.

Though the Education Commission (1964-66) which is popularly known as Kothari Commission, gave its report for the first time in post-independent India, the title ``Education and Development'', very little was done to make education in the country really development-oriented.

The rhetorically attractive opening sentence of the report that the ``Destiny of India is being shaped in her classrooms'' sounded hollow particularly in the middle of the Sixties when more than half of the children of school-going age were outside the classrooms of the country.

Our educational life was going along one track while the socio- economic life and aspirations went along another one, and the two, while not only did never meet at any point, also didn't have any fruitful interaction even at crucial stages in the life of the nation. This situation which is a remnant of the educational ethos of the colonial past has to be remedied to make the education system so vibrant as to respond to new challenges.

N. A. KARIM

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