Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Let education benefit society: Mullakkara

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The contract between educated people and the society at large, which mandates that education gained from the sweat and toil of the society will be used for its benefit is being violated today, Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran has said.

He was speaking after releasing the souvenir of the ‘Suvarna Keralam’ programme of the University of Kerala here on Monday. The programme was held at the Senate chamber of the University.

The lesson that people’s education and official education are not different was given to Kerala years ago by social organisations. The degrees that people get through official education are actually the largesse of those who sweat it out in the fields. Such education is not being used to benefit the toiling masses. Universities should actually make this a subject of research, the Minister said.

Today people’s education and official education that once used to exist under terms of mutual respect are in a crisis. Education should be able to create a culture that is able to discern that these two educations are one and the same.

The situation in the state today is that other people decide what Keralites should think. Instead of healthy debates over issues there is only room for controversy in the State. For instance, nobody debates the problems faced by the four-lakh odd coir workers of the State. The media does not give a fraction of importance to this issue as it does to the ‘Aravana problem’ at Sabarimala, Mr. Ratnakaran pointed out.

The Minister later gave away prizes to the winners of the ‘Suvarna Keralam’ literary competitions.

Vice- Chancellor of the University of Kerala M. K. Ramachandran Nair presided over the programme. Pro vice chancellor V. Jayaprakas and syndicate members participated.

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