Kerala mulls schools in Middle East

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.