Heads of the Schools' meeting

After a considerable number of days, we had a meeting of the heads of the schools today. Almost all came, other than three of them who substituted themselves with their teachers. After prayer we began with a sharing from teachers. Among many other things, some have strongly expressed their concerns, especially the student strength and the resultant division fall and all its consequences. One of the concerns expressed was the parish interference time in and time out. Instead of helping the school, mostly they happened to be a block.

Poor literacy rate among fisherfolk: UNDP-Planning Board Study

They say the print media is on its way to the grave. It sure is among the fisherfolk, for more than 40 percent of the State's fishermen do not read newspapers at all, says a UNDP-Planning Board study on the Human Development Report of the Fisherfolk in Kerala, prepared by Shyjan D, faculty member of the Department of Economics, University of Calicut and the Loyola College of Social Sciences, here.

What is more shocking is that among all the districts, a major chunk of fisherfolk in the State capital, as much as 70 percent, never read newspapers or magazines at all. And those who subscribe to newspapers have been forced to do so, either by political parties or by the local church.

In Kannur, almost everyone reads newspaper with only 13 percent not reading newspapers at all.

The pitiable rate of reading habit is also denying useful information to the fisherfolk here, where neraly 40 percent are unaware of the Government projects, providing assistance for education and also the Coastal Regulation Zone Rules.

While the people on the Thiruvananthapuram coast ascribed their lack of interest in newspapers and magazines to their habit of watching television, the study points to the possible low level of literacy among the Thiruvananthapuram fisherfolk, which is way below the State average. In Thiruvananthapuram, which has the highest number of fishermen population and fishing villages, more than 15 percent of the fisherfolk population is illiterate.

The fishermen of Ernakulam district were ahead in literacy rate even during the 1980s possibly owing to their exposure to the outside world, thanks to the Cochin Port.

But eventhough the State's fishermen lagged behind the general population in matters of literacy, they recorded a tremendous improvement over the next few decades.

For fisherfolk in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kannur, the first priority of the parents is to give the best possible education for the children.

The younger generation is also slowly moving out of the traditional means of livelihood.

In absolute contrast, the fisherfolk in Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram is way backward not just in terms of the education-level of the parents, but also of the children.

Among those who head the household, there is one illiterate for every three in Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram, which, the report says, could influence the parents' perception towards their children's education, especially higher education.

In Thiruvananthapuram, boys are expected to help out the fathers on the sea-shore, when they come back after fishing and girls are often tied down at home to cook and fetch drinking water when their mothers go out for work.

Another important reason cited for the inter-district difference in eduactional status, is lack of facilities provided at home for the students.

While the housing condition itself may not be suitable to provide separate space for children, most of the parents also did not think that it is necessary to provide the children with such facilities.

The comparison children's attendance in school when examined, also shows that the poorest regularity are in the districts of Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram.

The report concludes that while the general population in Kerala is swiftly heading to equipping themselves with technical and professional education, the people on the coast are being pushed out to peripheral economic activities.

[Reema Narendran/ ENS T'Puram, January 21 of The New Indian Express/ Saturday, January 22, 2011, Thiruvananthapuram, p.2]

Unbridled and arbitrary authority won't help anyone...

Am about complete my second year in office, though i had a stint in the same office some ten years ago. This time am faced with few questions regarding the day to day management of the office, especially with regard to the schools which has much to do with the Director of Public Instructions and its subordinate officers. This office is accountable to those people as well as the ones in the parish where our schools are, though not in the same manner. It is not conveniently forgotten the efforts of the parish, especially investing money to maintain and even to build necessary infra-structure besides being the local guardians of the school there. That doesn't mean that anyone can act unconstitutionally and interfere in the affairs of the school in such a way as to bring its functions to a stand still.

May be that we are not used to constitutional behaviour, accountability, responsibility, let alone propreity of behaviour. If anything untoward had been done from this office, there are enough forums to rectify it, if one fails to convince people here! That doesn't mean that people can take law into their hands and engage crowds to pressurize and cow us down.

It is high time that we come around to discuss and agree upon the rights and duties of people concerned so as to bring the defaulters before necessary forum to make them answerable, if not exactly to issue sanctions necessary.

We can't go on like this as an indisciplined lot! Let us mind what we say and do and be responsible for whatever we say and do.

I would love, if people could respond and make it a debatable matter to reign in the irresponsible and indisciplined among us. Let us create good atmosphere in our parishes, all the more so in our schools. For that we need to disciplined and responsible first. Let us do some sacrifice for the welfare and well being of our people and especially for our children who are our promise of the future.

E-mail ID

The ministry of Education in the archdiocese of Trivandrum (Latin) is now ready with its own e-mail ID: boetvmadl@yahoo.in