Monday, 19 March 2018
An Analysis of Quality Education for Rural Students in Kerala
An Analysis of Quality Education for Rural Students in Kerala
Dr.R. Rajan
Associate
Professor
Dept. of Life Long
Learning,
Alagappa University,
Karaikud
Research Scholar
Dept of Lifelong Learning,
Alagappa University Karaikudi
Abstract
One of the most powerful
tools for empowering individuals and communities is making certain that any
individual who wants to receive a quality education can do so. Quality is the
most cherished goal in human endeavor and especially in the field of education.
In India all are not getting quality education, especially the students in
rural areas due to some constraints. The govt. has to play a great role to
bring quality education to all in a country. This study analyses the present
scenario of quality education for rural students in Kerala. The analysis
reveals that Govt. of Kerala contributes much to give quality education for rural
students in Kerala.
Keywords-
Quality Education, Rural Students, Schemes for Education, scholarship and
Alternative schools
INTRODUCTION
Education plays an important role in the progress
of an individual’s mind and country. Learning is a complex process and it involves not only children and
their teachers but families as well. Factors affecting the achievements of
pupils can be broadly categorized into school-related and household related.
Generally, children who are fortunate in being born to educated parents or
having caring, competent teachers do very well, and are able to find jobs
demanding high productivity. However, the average is appallingly low. The
results are low productivity, poor skills, and massive unemployment even after
several years of schooling, or even college education. Various studies have shown that children
coming from a deprived background do not have a supportive learning environment
and feel alienated in schools. The government school teachers, even motivated
ones, find it difficult to address their special needs. Therefore, increasingly
it is being realized that only by improving the quality of education can the
positive effects of growing enrolments be sustained
QUALITY EDUCATION
Education being one of the most important factors
responsible to shape the personality of an individual has manifold functions.
It is the potent source of material for human development. Quality is the most
cherished goal in human endeavor and especially in the field of education. The
aims of education reflect the current needs and aspirations of a society as
well as its lasting values, and the immediate concerns of a community as well
as broad human ideals. Locating the term quality in educational discourse is
now a universal concern today. Its practice in the sphere of education demands
that the education available to all children in different regions and sections
of society has a comparable quality. Quality education includes:
Ø
Learners who are healthy, well-nourished and ready to
participate and learn, and supported in learning by their families and
communities.
Ø
Environments that
are healthy, safe, protective and gender-sensitive, and provide adequate
resources and facilities.
Ø
Content that is reflected in relevant curricula and
materials for the acquisition of basic skills, especially in the areas of
literacy, numeracy and skills for life.
Ø
Processes through which trained teachers use
child-centred teaching approaches in well-managed classrooms and schools and
skillful assessment to facilitate learning and reduce disparities.
Ø
Outcomes that encompass knowledge, skills and attitudes,
and are linked to national goals for education and positive participation in
society.
NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
One of the biggest concerns of educators
across the world, and especially in India, is making the present generation
learners future-ready. The main problem India now faces is that all the
pedagogical innovations are fit to improve the quality of urban education while
the rural learners and their education remain largely neglected. Kerala stands
miles ahead among the other states in social indicators like literacy rate,
higher enrolment of students, higher percentage of girl, SC and ST students in
schools,- schools and colleges even in remotest regions- low dropout rate among
students etc. The State Government is providing good quality infrastructure and
hygienic environment in schools and the State’s achievement in social
development and quality of life are, no doubt, inspiring and encouraging. In
order to find out the contributions in quality education for rural students,
the investigator conducted the study.
TITLE OF THE STUDY
The
Present study is entitled as;
“An
Analysis of Quality Education for Rural Students in Kerala”
OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
v To develop an awareness about the present
condition of educational system for rural students in Kerala.
v To know the role played by Govt. to improve
the quality of education in Kerala.
v To know about the strategies to improve the
quality of education.
METHODOLOGY
In order to know about the present condition
normative survey is the best method. In this study also, the investigator used
normative survey method to know about the Quality Education for rural students
in Kerala. The data for the study collected mostly from secondary sources and
also by conducting some discussion with the educationalists.
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Education
in Kerala had been promoted during British rule in India by Christian missionaries who were keen on providing education
to all sections of society and on strengthening of women, without any kind of
discrimination. The Travancore Royal Family, the Christian missionaries,
The Nair
Service Society, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam) and Muslim
Educational Society (MES)
- made significant contributions to the progress on education in Kerala. There were many sabha mathams that
imparted Vedic knowledge. Apart from kalaris, which taught
martial arts, there were village schools run by Ezhuthachans or Asans.
Christian missionaries brought the modern school education system to Kerala.
Schools and colleges are mostly run by the government, private trusts,
or individuals. Each school is affiliated with either the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education(ICSE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), Kerala
State Education Board .
English is the language of instruction in most private schools, while government
run schools offer English or Malayalam as the medium of instruction. Government
run schools in the districts bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also offer
instruction in Kannada or Tamil languages. After 10 years of secondary
schooling, students typically enroll at Higher Secondary School in one of the three streams—liberal arts, commerce or science.
At
present, there are 12271 Schools consisting of 6712 L.P. Schools. 2951 U.P
Schools and 2608 High Schools in the State. Of these, 4492 are Government
Schools (2551 LP, 957 UP and 984 HS), 7282 are Private aided Schools (4003 LP,
1870 UP and 1409 HS) and 497 are Private Unaided Schools (158 LP.124 UP and 215
HS). In addition to these, there are 102 Teachers Training Institutes, 43
Special Schools for the handicapped children and 8 Anglo Indian High Schools.
KERALA GOVERNMENT SCHEMES FOR EDUCATION
Kerala Education Department is running
various educational schemes, programmes, grants, financial awards, loans
scholarships, fellowships of School Education & Literacy, Elementary
Education, Secondary Education, Higher Education, Adult Education, Tribal
Education, Technical and Medical Education and Vocational Studies, skill
development etc. The special assistance is given to the students belonging to
Scheduled Caste(SC) and Scheduled Tribe(ST), Other Backward Classes(OBC) and
Socially, Educationally Backward Classes(SEBC), Minority Category and below
poverty line(BPL), Rural areas, Disabled/Physically Handicapped (PH) students.
The various ministries such as Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Social
Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Ministry of Labor
& Employment, Ministry of Home Affairs and Department of Empowerment of
Persons with Disabilities are being involved in assisting and helping. The
following list shows the schemes, scholarships and programmes implemented by
Govt. of Kerala in order to up lift the quality of education system in Kerala.
LIST OF
SCHEMES IMPLEMENTED IN KERALA
|
Sl. No.
|
Name of Scheme
|
|
1
|
Post Matric Scholarship for SC Students
|
|
2
|
Pre Matric Scholarship for SC Students
|
|
3
|
Post Matric Scholarship for OBC students
|
|
4
|
Free School Uniform Scheme
for All girls and ST/SC students
|
|
5
|
Incentive for the Girls Child for Secondary
Education
|
|
6
|
Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for ST
|
|
7
|
Merit cum Means Scholarship for Minorities
|
|
8
|
Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for Minorities
|
|
9
|
Pre-Matric Scholarship for Children of those
engaged in unclean occupations
|
|
10
|
Scholarship to Universities/College Students
|
|
11
|
Upgradation of merit of SC students
|
|
12
|
Scholarship to the children of Beedi workers
|
|
13
|
Noon Meal/ Mid Day Meal Scheme
|
|
14
|
Interest Subsidy (CSIS) on Education Loan
|
|
15
|
Prathipha Scholarship for higher education
|
|
16
|
Tuition Fees re-imbursement for children studying in unaided schools:
|
|
17
|
Boarding School Facilities for rural students
|
|
18
|
Shri. Ayyankali talent search scholarship
|
|
19
|
Temple Entry Proclamation Memorial Scholarship
|
|
20
|
Book bank scheme
|
|
21
|
Free Laptop for girl students
|
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF QUALITY EDUCATION
SYSTEM IN KERALA
Kerala as a
state has been enriched with some of the key basic features like high per
capita income, good infrastructure, high enrolment ratio etc. which are crucial
to set up a sound educational base. Kerala’s education system holds nearly universal enrolment in the schools with
very low drops out rates. There were no fees at any level in schools. The fees
were very low in the higher education and technical education institutions that
are owned or aided by the government. The literacy rates for Scheduled Caste
(SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) population, though lower than those of the
general population, are higher than even the literacy rates for the general
population in India. Another peculiar feature of Kerala’s education system is that overtime it has witnessed bridging up of
regional disparities in education to a very large extent. The availability of sound infrastructure in
terms of number of schools, teachers available etc. was another key feature
that strengthened the growth of education in Kerala. The following data gives a
clear picture of the difference that is seen in the education system across
Kerala and other Indian states.
a) Infrastructure: In terms of infrastructure, the
schools of Kerala (whether it may be in Rural or in urban area) have different
types of Building, libraries, play grounds, computer and Science labs,
furniture, different types of blackboards, digital and smart classrooms,
internet facilities, etc. than any other state in India.
b) Gross
Enrolment Ratio and Dropout Rate: In Kerala its GER is high
and its dropout is almost zero in all the grades. This is another pivotal
factor that ensures an efficient educational base with high literacy rates in
Kerala.
c) Qualified
Teaching Staffs: Availability
of qualified teachers plays a vital role in shaping the education system of any
economy. SCERT, DIETs, BRCs are giving timely advices and training for teachers
to bring quality education in the schools of Kerala
d) Allocation of Funds By Govt. : Many activities had been
undertaken over the last two decades for improving the standard of education
with the support of the unison of teachers, parents, local people and other
educational activists. The Education Protection Mission aims at elevating this
to a new level, The novelty here is to create a giant leap in educational infrastructure
facilities especially in teaching aids together with taking forward the
progressive achievements so far made in curriculum and in the methodology of
teaching. As part of this, action has already been initiated to convert 40,000
class rooms in high schools and higher secondary level into high-tech. Being
motivated by this, the possibilities of a popular fraternity for improving infrastructure
facilities, for enhancing pedagogical standards and for ensuring the faculties
to be accomplished by the pupils have been proved through the pilot project in
four Legislative Assembly Constituencies. This initiative will be completed in
2017-18. The expenditure for the purpose is Rs.500 crore.
ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS IN KERALA FOR RURAL STUDENTS
An alternative school is an
educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are
nontraditional. Such schools offer a wide range of philosophies and teaching
methods; some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations. Some
schools are based on pedagogical
approaches differing from
that of the mainstream pedagogy employed in a culture, while other schools are
for gifted
students, children with special needs, children who have fallen off the track
educationally and/or expelled from their base school, children who wish to
explore unstructured or less rigid system of learning, etc. In Kerala also few
alternative schools are there which gives quality education for rural students.
The main aim of such schools is the all-round development of students in rural
areas.
The main alternative schools include;
v Bhoomi Kinder Garden – Kochi
v Sarang
Alternative School - Palakkad
v Kanavu
– Wayanad
v Gothrathalam
– Thiruvananthapuram
v Mithranikethan
– Thiruvananthapuram
v Pallikoodam
– Kottayam
CONCLUSION
The
education system in Kerala has been a model for other Indian states as its
educational base is enriched with all the essentials which in turn ensure a
universal literacy rate. In contrast to the rest of India and most other
low-income countries, people in Kerala enjoy education and health at levels
close to those in the West .Kerala, therefore, surged ahead of many other
States in human development indicators such as literacy levels, including
female literacy levels, enrolment in schools, percentage of girl students and
Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes students in schools, low drop-out rates and
the number of schools (and colleges) even in rural areas. So the contribution
in quality education for rural students of Kerala, is an outstanding one.
REFERENCES
1. 7th
All Indian School Education Survey by NCERT, September 2002
2. Centre
for Socio-economic & Environmental Studies, “Entry Barriers to Professional
Education in Kerala”, Kochi, 1997.
3.
Centre for Socio-Economic and Environmental
Studies (CSES, 2002): Status Report on Pre-School Education in Kerala (Kochi:
CSES)
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