Education sector pathetic: KSSP

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 3. The Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) has expressed concern at the pathetic state of the education sector following the flawed execution of well- intentioned reforms for the primary to professional levels of education in the State.

The KSSP's critique of the education scenario which was released to the press here recently by the Parishat president, Prof. R. V. G. Menon, notes that though progressive measures had been initiated at the policy-level over the past 25 years, the serious lapses in their implementation had reduced well-intentioned reforms to a farce.

The KSSP has taken a highly critical view of the direction being given to professional education in the State. Questioning the rationale of sanctioning ten new engineering colleges at a time when unemployment among engineers was mounting, the KSSP noted that almost all of the new institutions were in the self- financing sector. According to the KSSP, it was impossible for any college to generate profits from admission and course fees alone unless it resorted to fleecing of students.

It called for a need to differentiate between the demand for engineering seats and the actual demand for qualified engineers. As a result of a policy of increasing the number of colleges, there could only be a quantitative increase in the number of jobless engineers. There are atleast 8,000 engineers unemployed candidates with various engineering degrees. The attempt should be to increase job opportunities for the qualifiers.

The KSSP has warned that the instance where a private college coming up in Ernakulam won an appeal against the Government because of a weak representation put up by the latter would set a dangerous precedent of new colleges not requiring Government sanction. It urged the Government to file a review petition in the Supreme Court in connection with the case.

While supporting the attachment of plus two education with schools and the starting of half the sanctioned courses in Government schools, the KSSP felt that at the same time the Government had frittered away a golden opportunity to vest powers of recruiting teachers to private-aided schools with the PSC or introduce a system of appointment on the basis of a merit-list after a common eligibility tests.

The KSSP has urged the Government to pursue such a system with will as it would go a long way in curbing corruption. It is also pointed out that the option for writing the predegree examination in Malayalam was not valid for the plus two courses.

The KSSP suggests a judicious reallocation of manpower to offset the problem of college teachers rendered excess with the attachment of plus two education with schools. According to the KSSP, the introduction of genuine job-oriented courses and deployment of suitable teachers was one solution. The KSSP suggests using this resource base to implement the challenging task of training and modernisation of teachers. If there are still excess staff, the Government should protect the salary and service conditions of the teachers and assign them for plus two teaching on deputation basis.

Emphasising the need for a major revision of syllabi for the eighth class next year, the Parishat has expressed doubt on whether the Education Department was approaching the issue with the required seriousness.

The KSSP has blamed the lack of priorities in ushering in computer education from the seventh class in schools. What should be aimed at is imparting computer literacy by the time a student is in the tenth class and prepare the child for computer training at the higher-secondary level. Instead, what was being attempted was `computerisation' of education, something which had not been possible even at the engineering colleges.

While lauding the syllabi revision for primary schools and a relatively better printing schedule for textbooks, the KSSP notes that the distribution of teaching aids was far from effective.

On medical education, the KSSP has asked the Government to bring out a white paper on the Pariyaram Medical College in Kannur. The manner in which the proposed cooperative Medical College would be governed should be clearly spelt out. The KSSP has wants the Government to adopt a policy of increasing facilities at existing medical colleges before going in for new colleges.

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