Empowering Education: The Malabar Education Movement's Vision for Northern Kerala

Since its inception in 2020, the Malabar Education Movement, under the leadership of Prof. K.K.N. Kurup, has been committed to improving the quality and equity of education in Northern Kerala. The movement addresses long-standing regional disparities by actively engaging with authorities and stakeholders to create meaningful opportunities for learning and growth. Data from official sources reveal a disturbing reality: tens of thousands of students in Kerala drop out of school after Class 10 each year. The primary barrier is a severe shortage of higher secondary school batches—a gap that has remained unaddressed for decades. This crisis is most acute in Malappuram district, which has faced this educational neglect for the past 25 years. As a result, Malappuram, once considered among Kerala’s most promising regions, has been pushed into the ranks of the most backward districts in the country. Despite the gravity of the issue, no significant corrective action has been taken. It is this persistent neglect that led the people of Malabar to establish the Malabar Education Movement—a collective voice demanding justice, equity, and the right to education for every child in the region. Though the organization initiated its activities based on evidence and reliable data from its inception in 2020, CEDAR, Center for Educational Data Analysis and Research was set up to explore the depth in a more organized way. Explore the blogs to learn more.