KOCHI: The changes to Kerala’s classrooms is beginning to mirror the changing face of the state itself. As lakhs of migrant workers from Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states settle in Kerala in search of work, their children are increasingly finding their way into local schools. But the education system, a new study says, is struggling to keep pace with this demographic shift.
The shift is particularly visible in migrant hubs such as Perumbavoor, while some schools in urban Kochi are witnessing a striking transformation in their student profile. In a school in Kadavanthra, for instance, around 60% of the students are reportedly from outside Kerala.
Kerala is estimated to have anywhere between 35 lakh and 45 lakh migrant workers, with some estimates putting the number even higher. The growing presence of their children in classrooms is creating a new challenge for a school system that has traditionally catered to a largely linguistically and culturally homogeneous student population.
“The demographic landscape of Kerala’s classrooms is experiencing a quiet revolution, but the experience is far from uniform,” says Neena Joseph, associate dean, Loyola Institute of Peace and International Relations (LIPI), who conducted the study with Gopika Selvaraj, research associate, Centre for Research, Intervention and Policy (CRIP), LIPI, Kochi.
The most immediate hurdle is language. Children entering Kerala schools may speak Assamese, Hindi, Odia or other languages and often have little or no proficiency in Malayalam or English. Teachers, meanwhile, are trained to teach a largely homogeneous group and suddenly find themselves having to double up as translators. “Teachers find themselves unequipped to teach in a multilingual classroom where they have to bridge the gap between children who do not often understand either English or Malayalam,” Neena points out.
The problem is not confined to the classroom. While enrolment is taking place, the larger question is whether these children are being meaningfully included in the education system.
According to the study, one of the major systemic problems is the “mismatch gap” created when children are admitted based on their chronological age rather than their actual learning level.
A 10-year-old, for instance, may be placed in Class V because of age even if the child is at Level 1 in literacy and numeracy. The result is a widening learning gap and a child who struggles to keep up with classmates.
The administrative machinery too has been designed around the assumption of a relatively stable student population. From enrolment registers to midday meal records, school systems find it difficult to accommodate children whose families frequently move from one place to another in search of employment.
“This causes administrative resistance to admitting mobile children. Hence, their educational continuity gets disrupted,” the study notes.
The changing classroom is also exposing social prejudices. Some local parents, the researchers find, are reluctant to send their children to schools with a large number of migrant students, citing concerns about hygiene or the perceived quality of education. There have also been instances of opposition to support programmes for migrant children, with some parents viewing initiatives such as the Roshni Project’s free school bus as preferential treatment.
For Kerala, the challenge therefore goes beyond getting migrant children through the school gate. The education system has to adapt to classrooms where multiple languages, cultures and levels of learning coexist. The researchers call for competency-based assessments when children are admitted, institutionalised multilingual support and a more flexible administrative system that can track the progress of children who move between schools and locations.
“The buddy system, for instance, can help children bridge the linguistic gap,” says Neena, stressing the need to consolidate and institutionalise practices that are already showing promise.
Inclusion, the researchers argue, cannot mean merely accommodating migrant children within an existing system. It has to be a two-way process involving interaction, cultural exchange and mutual adaptation, with schools creating spaces for participation and acceptance. Data-driven policy, institutional support and coordinated interventions could help Kerala turn this demographic transition into an opportunity to build a genuinely inclusive education system.
EDUCATIONAL INCLUSION
The analysis is based on the study titled ‘Beyond Enrolment: Pathways to Genuine Educational Inclusion for Children of Migrant Workers’ conducted by Neena Joseph, associate dean, Loyola Institute of Peace and International Relations (LIPI), & Gopika Selvaraj, research associate, Centre for Research, Intervention and Policy (CRIP), LIPI, Kochi.
Language hurdle
Kerala is estimated to have anywhere between 35 lakh and
45 lakh migrant workers, with some estimates putting the number even higher
The growing presence of their children in classrooms is creating a new challenge for a school system, with the most immediate hurdle being language
Children entering Kerala schools may speak Assamese, Hindi, Odia or other languages, and often have little or no proficiency in Malayalam or English