Growth of school education in Kerala

Kerala has to her credit a long and remarkable history of education development both in public and private sector. She has marched ahead of other states in the field of education and her achievement is reflected in the high percentage of literacy and the large proportion of children of the various age groups, attending educational institution. Outstanding progress has been achieved in Kerala in the matter of enrolment of students at the primary as well as at the secondary stages of school education since the formation of Kerala state. 

It may be seen from table that the enrolment in primary schools rose rapidly from 24.9 lakhs in 1956-57 to 43.5 lakhs in 1991-92 indicating a rise of enrolment by about 75 per cent within a period of about three and a half decades. At the same time enrolment in secondary school went up from 2.2 lakhs in 1956-57 to 15.6 lakhs in 1991-92 registering a seven-fold increase over the same period. 

The total enrolment in schools during this period increased by 118 per cent i.e., from 27.1 lakhs to 59.1 lakhs. The higher rate of enrolment in secondary schools can be attributed to low dropout rates at the lower primary and upper primary stages and also to the growing private demand for higher education for which S.S.L.C is the minimum prescribed qualification. 

It also reflects the increasing intensity in the desire of the modern youth to enter into the organised employment sector, which required S.S.L.C as the minimum qualification. But since 1996-97 the enrolment in primary school is seen to decrease may be due to the closing of the uneconomic schools. At the same time the tremendous rate of increase in enrolment in secondary stage indicates the rapid expansion of education facilities provided in the state, especially at the secondary stage, as is reflected from the growing number of high schools in recent years.