The question on the number of higher secondary seats have been brewing in the air for some time, often linked to the developmental situation of the region.
With the onset of monsoon, another hue and cry have become part of political protest in Kerala in last years, which is the controversy on the availability of higher secondary seats for the students who are eligible for higher studies in Malabar region, particularly in the district of Malappuram. The student outfits of major mainstream political parties from right and left political spectrum have joined the rally. The student organisations from the right have already started agitations on the issue, and the leading organisation from the left (affiliated with the ruling Left government) has threatened to join and intensify struggles if the concerns on the availability of seats are not settled amicably. Different fractions of organisations belonging to Muslim community are already on protest and have organised demonstrations in different parts of the state.
The question on the number of higher secondary seats have been brewing in the air for some time, often linked to the developmental situation of the region.
The State has always existed as an anomaly in the country since its formation in 1957, achieving a higher standard of living across social groups compared to other states. The revolutionary policies adopted in the initial years and welfare measures implemented in different periods enabled the state to produce a ‘development triumph’ adored and debated in the academic discourse. The achievements in the education sector have been the pillar of the ‘Kerala Developmental Experiences’, and it was not free from controversies from time to time.
Though the State has been in different stages of development on the eve of its formation, combining the princely states of Travancore and Cochin under the indirect rule of the British, and Malabar district under Madras presidency, it could merge the gap with conscious efforts and policies implemented. The political atmosphere in the two former States, along with missionary and economic activities, created social reforms and the presence of institutions facilitated social development. On the eve of the State formation, Cochin and Travancore had the presence of educational and public health institutions serving the population. On the other hand, Malabar, in the northern part of the State, under the direct British rule, had been subjected to colonial exploitation and stagnated social development.
The state had undertaken measures to improve the general situation in the region, and some of the early studies on the ‘Kerala Development Experience’ discussed the merging of the regions in terms of social development. In the debates on the replicability and sustainability of the development in lower income countries, what has been concealed is the existing gap between the Travancore-Cochin and Malabar in resource allocation and social development. There are three main narratives regarding Kerala’s ‘regional development’:
a) the State has addressed the gap,
b) the converging approach where the backward regions will eventually catch up, and
c) the ‘developmental gap’ will persist until the structural determinants are addressed.
When the social development indicators analysed closely, it could be observed that the districts in Malabar have been performing better in the indicators regarding health, education and living conditions in the last two decades. This may be argued in support of the two approaches mentioned earlier. The third group is of the opinion that, until the structural issues producing the ‘developmental disparity’ are addressed, the gap will persist as the already developed regions will grow further while the ‘catch-up process’ takes place. It is also argued that the merging took place only in the case of ‘out-put indicators’- measured in the developmental performance, and the ‘input indicators’- resources allocated and availability of development infrastructures remained in disparity equal to the pre-independence period or worsened. This will be evident when we compare the presence of human resources and physical infrastructure per lakh population in the two regions. The crisis in the health sector had floated up during the period of Covid in some of the northern districts and this was solved by joining in hands with the private institutions in the districts.
The policy makers, political parties and civil society should address the existing problem as such instead of engaging in the blame game. The issue with the higher education has been existing from the separation of pre-degree from colleges and forming higher secondary widely known as plus two. The demand for the additional resources to the districts in Malabar region has been in air for decades and recently, there has been arguments that the existing discrimination in resource distribution remains unsolved because of the social composition of the region. This argument neglects the fact that the backwardness is affecting the whole region and population residing in it and not a particular social group. It is high time that, authorities arrive on policy decisions and concrete measures where permanent and amicable solution is brought out. If the state fails in this, the annual temporary measures will have to continue, and this will create problems in the social fabric of the state.
Notably, there were calls for separate state in the northern part of the state claiming the apathy towards the region, and according to experts, this might cause major unrest in the region if a solution has not been found soon considering the propagandist and communal churnings of some right wing socio-political groups who have been using religion as a tool to further their agenda.
(Akhil Babu is a researcher specialised in the ‘Kerala Model of Development’)
