Headlines
Kerala mulls schools in Middle East
Thiruvananthapuram, July 23
Kerala Education
Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb told the assembly on Thursday that the education
department would conduct a feasibility study to see if state-run
schools can open in Middle East countries.
Rabb was responding to a submission raised by Congress legislator Anwar Sadath.
"There
are lots of practical difficulties in opening a state-run school in the
Middle East due to technical and diplomatic reasons," said Rabb.
"Despite
all such difficulties, what we have decided is to see how we can help
our people and the education secretary will be preparing a feasibility
report on what can be done and if a state-run school can be opened in
the Middle-East countries," he added.
Sadath said that the
backbone of Kerala's economy is thousands of people from the state, who
are working in Middle-East countries.
"The situation is such
that while a large majority of the Kerala diaspora is unable to fund for
the very high fees that is being charged by the present educational
institutions in these countries, many of them are forced to leave back
their wife and children in Kerala," Sadath said.
"Hence, there
has been a long standing demand from our people that if a state-run
school is opened there, they will be able to live with their families,"
said Sadath.
The latest study report of S. Irudayarajan of
Centre for Development Studies here stated that 90 percent of Kerala's
23.63 lakh diaspora is in various Middle-East countries of which UAE
accounts for 38.7 percent of the Kerala emigrants followed by Saudi
Arabia -- 25.2 percent.