Keralaeducation

Posts Tagged ‘Kerala’

Kerala has long been considered as one of the states in India with the largest rate of literacy. The educational scenario is pretty much developed with each and every child from every house, be it from a financially sound background or otherwise, given an opportunity to attain a minimum of basic educational qualification.

It has been noted that the subjects taught are some of the most advanced types with high standard, leading to the speculation that the children are well educated with a high rate of knowledge and skills. This may perhaps be the reason that most of the companies have at the least one person from Kerala working for them in various departments.

The whole concept of education is given high importance in the state. Each year a lot of finance spent on it ensuring that only the best of the best is given to the children to develop their skills. Every facility is provided in the schools so that the children feel comfortable and can concentrate more on their strengths and develop it.

A lot of steps have been taken to ensure that every family sends their children to school for education. This includes free lunch for the children at the schools, free education for the girl child, and even the ration of rice grains are given at some places to encourage the parents to send their child to school rather than sending them for work.

These steps have succeeded in keeping the children in schools. The standard of the curriculum in the state board schools are quite high with every subject revised periodically to keep in touch with the latest developments and scenarios in the world. There are elective languages in the schools with a wide variety to ensure that each child have master skills in at least one language.

You may have noticed that there are plenty of Malayalees in most of the organizations in India. If you were wondering why this is so, the reason is that education is given prime importance in the state to each and every child. This is the feature that has led Kerala being termed as the state with the highest rate of literacy in India.

You may find very few Malayalee children who are child laborers because most of them are probably in school studying than working. The government has taken steps to ensure that this remains as such by compelling the parents to send their children to schools through a lot of benefits and attractive packages. This has kept the children at schools.

The packages include lunch, and in some cases even breakfasts for the children up to the level of high school. This would eliminate the need for the parents to find extra money to feed them. The next step was to give free education to girl child, so that the parents won’t send their daughters to work in the fields or get them married away at a young age.

Some government schools even offer the ration materials like rice grains on special occasions, a fixed quantity for each child they have sent to school. This is done so that the parents don’t feel it as a burden to send the children to school as you can imagine that if they go school instead of working the finance would be low. So instead these benefits are given to encourage them to send the children to school.

The school curriculum and the syllabus are updated regularly to keep in touch with the latest technologies and developments. More importance is now given to improving the skills of the children by including more practical studies into the syllabus.

Kerala students understand that education opens doors and provides a higher earning potential, more career opportunities, and more chances for advancement. For students who already have a bachelor’s degree and would like to obtain more education, an MBA is an excellent way to further your career.

What is an MBA?

An MBA, or a Master’s of Business Administration, is a master’s degree in business. Typically, this takes one to two years after completion of a bachelor’s degree to earn. MBA programs can include areas such as accounting, economics, business communications, and many more.

Why pursue an MBA?

Many professionals agree that those with MBAs fill the majority of executive-level positions. An MBA shows employers you have specialized training and knowledge in many aspects of business, which can make you more marketable.

Can you get an MBA part-time?

Many Kerala students who want to pursue MBA programs may not have the time or means to take a year or two off work. Most MBA programs allow you to take classes at night or online, so you can better work them around your schedule.

Is an MBA worth the time and money?

Advanced degrees are expensive, and MBA programs tend to cost more per class than classes for bachelor’s degrees. However, most people will agree the time and money spent is well worth it for their careers. Employees with MBAs make more than those with bachelor’s degrees, sometimes up to $20,000 more a year. In addition, an MBA could give you a leg up in the workforce. This is particularly important when the economy is down.

Pursuing an MBA is time consuming and expensive, but the results are well worth it. Kerala students who are considering taking their education to the next level should consider an MBA for better opportunities and pay in the workforce.

Kerala is known to offer the best and affordable healthcare. Given its living conditions, and standards, people of Kerala have good health statistics as compared to anywhere else in the country. Analysis of this will bring across the efficacy of medical education in Kerala.

Medical students from Kerala migrate to other countries. Providing a strong backbone for the development of medical education is the directorate of medical education. Medical professionals like doctors, and medical professional assistors like paramedics, graduate successfully from medical colleges each year. Paramedics are nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and lab technicians.

Most medical colleges are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. Activities related to research are given the right infrastructure. In 1951, the first medical college was setup in Thiruvananthapuram, which is the capital city of Kerala. Soon after, another famous college called the Calicut Medical College was setup after 6 years. Now there are plenty of dental colleges, pharmacy colleges as well. Medical colleges offer education programs on Dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, psychiatry, pediatrics, developmental sciences, paramedics, neurosciences and so on.

Progress is happening on how medical education is given. Learning management systems and virtual classrooms are the latest trend in medical education. No more do students need to travel abroad for an international medical education degree. They can get it sitting in the comfort of their homes.

In India, the basic requirement for a doctor is an MBBS (Bachelor of medicine, Bachelor of Science) degree. MBBS is given a graduate course status in the medical education circles. Most medical colleges offer MBBS degree. Medical colleges may also have postgraduate programs. MBBS degrees start off with a combinational-subject approach. All life sciences are taught in the initial years. Students will also have invaluable education on dealing with patients in out-patient departments. MBBS is one of those courses in India, where practical education is literally indispensable.

In Kerala, plenty of students are enrolling for MBBS, Nursing and Dental courses. Equally represented by both sexes, the students live their educational lives in good congenial faculties. The fee structure is similar to that of any college, comprising of tuition and examination fees.

Kerala’s model of human development has won worldwide recognition. Though not faring well on the prosperity front, living standards are high in Kerala. School education in Kerala is ubiquitous by its presence across all social groups. But despite access to education in so many areas, professional education still remains aloofly accessible. When it comes to medical education, it is reserved for people with strong financial backgrounds.

Economically backward people in Kerala have no way to complete a medical education course from a medical college. Financial barriers have put laid to rest the dreams of talented doctors. In the recent past, most medical education was subsidized by the government. Taking into account medical education expenses, subsidization of fees offers only scant assistance. Typically, the brunt of medical education expenses is in the non-academic category. Normal academic fee is tuition fees, and examination fees. Other small miscellaneous fees may also be charged. Non-academic fee might sound like a misnomer because the fee is charged to activities related to academic medical education study.

Looking at the other side of fees, there are a lot of expenses a medical education student has to bear. Medical education books are very expensive, considering that medical students might still be relying on bank loans or external support. Laboratory usage warrants charging of fees. Laboratories use chemicals and other paraphernalia that might be expensive. So, students have to pay for that as well. Then there are patient-visits that might add up as fees. Even clothes might be charged directly to the students. Medical students living in hostels will have to pay for hostel expenses.

All these expenses repel students to take up medical education. Socially and economically backward students don’t dare to dream in that direction. If yearly expenses of medical students surpass their annual family income, then the dream of being a doctor or paramedic becomes riskier for students.

Finding solutions is never easy. Seemingly, if the government is ready to subsidize these non-academic expenses as well, then the state of Kerala can expect talented students to think of embarking on a career in medicine.

During a time when student travel was expensive in Kerala, Kerala Students Union (KSU) was originated when they caused uproar on this issue. Fighting for the waiving off of bus, train, and ferry fares for students, the KSU was a catalyst of positive change in the education circles.

That move didn’t reap rich dividends though. Fire was dealt with fire by the ruling government then. Mass protests were diffused by police lathi charges, and harsh mob-clearance mechanisms. Whatever was the end result of the protests, it did create a huge ripple in the political pond of Kerala. Like an exploding tornado, the Kerala Students Union was a big brother to collegiate education initiatives. Fearless by disposition and practice, the KSU marched nonchalantly into the pursuit of positive change in Kerala education system.

Students are now following KSU religiously. KSU is a cult figure for students pursuing their higher education. Its presence can be seen across all colleges, schools, and institutions in Kerala. Educational institutions are aware of them, and do not resort to anything that might stir the KSU nest of fierce hornets.

The Kerala Students Union has been instrumental in setting up slabs for primary, secondary, and tertiary education sectors. They have actively lobbied and implemented the standardization of fees in government as well as private educational institutions. So, fees for education are pretty much the same everywhere in Kerala. Setting up student unions in colleges, and universities, KSU has ensured that students have a platform to voice their opinions from. In Kerala, there is a strong breed of student leaders that have been inspired by the activities of the KSU.

Credit must be given to hundreds and thousands of students, who have put their lives in jeopardy to achieve educational reforms in Kerala. KSU has the power and vitality to even run governments rugged. Its backlash is so lethal, that even governments are tamed in its fury. Unrelenting agitations, prolonged pressure strategies, are some of the adjectives to describe the ways of the KSU. As long as KSU is active, Kerala education can hope to see improvements.

Established in the year 1996, IIM Kozhikode was a combined effort of the central and state government. Providing a blend of education in consulting, research, and management, IIM Kozhikode is one of the premier management education institutes in India.

Kozhikode is also referred to as Calicut. It is a city in the state of Kerala. Vasco De Gama, the famous Portuguese explorer landed in Kozhikode and discovered India. IIM Kozhikode is in the heart of this famous city. Kunnamangalam is the place where the institute is located in. Set amongst acres of lush green outfits, in the already green Kerala, it provides the perfect setting for education.

IIM Kozhikode offers management education that is of world class quality standards. Full-time diplomas are offered in management. Research education and distance education programmes are also available. Students stand to gain from the highly-researched and developed management development courses.

All education programs are based on a blend of theoretical approaches, and practical application of the theories. Understanding that managers just don’t need theory, but practical application, all the courses lay an emphasis on research. Courses are continuously upgraded to support the ever-increasing industry. More to ward of obsolescence of courses, IIM Kozhikode is continuously developing its own flavor of education subject matter. Using case studies, students get to understand business problems. Ways of tacking business problems give students a taste of the job at the school itself. Instruction principles are solely rested on how students tackle business problems.

IIM Kozhikode’s management development education courses are an enhanced version of the post graduate programmes. Management development education courses get the students not only job ready but industry ready. Most importantly, all students are well-connected with the industry. IIM Kozhikode ensures that all its students are within the circle of influential and inspiring personalities in the industry. It is not uncommon to see these people take-up a guest-lecture at the institute, now and then.

It is not only about education and more education. IIM Kozhikode also hosts the entrepreneurship competition, and conducts numerous seminars. Students are given good exposure to workshops, discussions, and awareness programmes.

Regardless of where you are in the world, an education is within reach through the use of the Internet. Online degrees have increased in popularity in recent years for many reasons. Some of these include the following ones:

• Convenience. Online degrees are convenient, allowing students to pursue an education from the comfort of their homes, the library, or wherever they have Internet connections.
• Flexibility. Students can access online classes 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so those who also have jobs or family responsibilities can complete their assignments on their own time.
• Opportunity. Online degrees are good for adults who want to switch careers or pursue opportunities for advancement. They also allow adults who did not have the opportunity to go to college to return to school.

Students in Kerala who want to earn a degree online should look for the following things when choosing a virtual college:

• Accreditation. An online school that does not have accreditation could mean that your money and hard work won’t pay off. Make sure the online school offers accredited classes and programs.
• Reputation. Do a little research to check out the school’s reputation. If other students frequently complain about it, or if it has bad reviews, then you may want to look at other options.
• Accessibility. Online professors or online tutors should be accessible, meaning chat or phone support is available and professors or tutors return emails and inquiries in a timely fashion.
• Payment. Look at the school’s payment options and arrangements. If you can’t pay for all the tuition upfront, many schools will allow you to pay in installments or offer other financing options.

The people of Kerala can receive online degrees from the comfort of their own homes and increase their earning power and quality of living through online education.

For the past few years, Kerala education has received impetus from the government’s novel initiatives. Replicating Kerala’s model of education, other states are going the Kerala education way. Knowledge capital being the chief export of Kerala, in terms of erudite and skillful human resources, knowledge industries are looking at Kerala closely. A society of knowledge, as envisioned by the Kerala government, looks like an immediate reality.

Under Kerala’s ICT (Information and Communications Technology) project, software was mandated as freeware. Free software was envisioned to be developed and distributed freely as well. Free software promoted societal equality. Given the access that free software represented, education was now the prerogative of all sections of the society.

Schools in Kerala had successfully started using free software. Knowledge initiatives received more outreach and inclusiveness. Keltron is a public sector project that currently focuses on building free software for schools. All this meant that developing free software was certainly do-able. What is also meant was that proprietary software could be done away with given the license fees associated with it.

Drawing much applause were the Kerala schools that showed good receptiveness to adopt IT based education. Schools are using software operating systems like Linux, which is a free operating system. Even GNU operating systems are used. Using these operating systems is a cost-saving effort. Not needing the use of pirated software, this was a move in the right direction for Kerala education.

But some e-governance initiative of the government strayed away from this policy. Education department initiatives like the higher secondary single window system mandated the use of a good operating system that could not be easily attacked by hackers. Without any other go, the government had to comply with this demand, and started installing proprietary operating systems. Even schools were drawn to do this. When schools started doing this, they installed pirated software instead. Illegal usage of software has created a rift in policy-sentiments. On one side is the IT@School initiative that seeks to go the open source software way, and on the other side are some schools that are using pirated software.

The culture of Kerala is suited to activities related to hospitality. Indeed, this perception has lead to the institutionalization of hospitality. Set amongst the western coast of India, Kerala is slice of thin land that promises a touristic appeal like no other. Tourism is an important economic activity in Kerala. Activities surrounding tourism thrive in Kerala, and are very much evident in its culture.

Hospitality education has been imbibed in the collective consciousness of the people of Kerala, due to its strong exposure to perennial foreigner-influxes. Overseas orientations manifest in the minds of students, as they yearn for the regularities of developed foreign countries. And, hospitality education provides a plausible ticket for that.

Hospitality is the art and science of hosting a guest in the most pleasurable manner possible. Not just restricted to food, and wine, hospitality includes entertainment as well. Guests are engaged, enthralled, and enamored by displaying novel acts of hospitality, and creating unique experiences for them.

Most endeavors in hospitality are an attempt to get the guests to revisit the place. Guests need to be excited enough to return back, and keep doing that. Challenging, as it may seem, the hospitality industry in Kerala has proven that it does just that. Repeat visitors are very common in Kerala. Anecdotal evidence has had that people from foreign countries have stayed in houseboats for months together. No more is the need for ships, but just simple houseboats, for people to get a living-on-water experience in Kerala.

Hotel management is considered an excellent higher education option in Kerala. Based on awareness in hospitality, Kerala youth seek hotel management education. Also, plenty of predecessors have completed education in hospitality and have created a strong footprint in the hospitality space. Which means, that after a formal education in hospitality, there are plenty of nodes to reach out to in the industry for fresh hospitality-education pass-outs.

Education in hospitality is a great way for students to understand the economic-backbone of their state. What they can also achieve is to build a collective wealth of tacit and implicit hospitality knowledge in the state.