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Chapter V
SLOW LEARNERS AND UNDERACHIEVERS
All the essential data analysed in this chapter have been collected from
various sources based on the questionnaire distributed to Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe students studying in high schools in northern districts of
Kerala, their parents, social workers, officers, settlements and colonies of
such students, teachers, hostels and such other places or persons who are
directly or indirectly connected with the welfare and their study.
MALAPPURAM DISTRICT
Manorama Year Book (2008, p.299) gives the following details of
Malappuram district.
District : Malappuram
Formation of the district : 16th June 1969
Area : 3550 Square K.M.
Total population : 3625471(2001 Census)
Male : 1754576
Male : 1870895
Urban : 356170
Rural : 3269301
Hindus : 1057418
Muslims : 2484576
Christians : 80650
Sikh : 221
Budhas : 387
Others : 124
Scheduled Castes : 285442
Scheduled Tribes : 12267
Literacy rate : 6
Villages : 135Grama panchayaths : 102
The 6 taluks in Malappuram districts are:
No. Taluks Area (in Sq. K.M) Houses Population
1 Ernad 703.85 135253 782850
2 Nilambur 1343.29 95800 528756
3 Perinthalmanna 505.391 90656 528756
4 Tirur 447.68 131732 834817
5 Tirurangadi 322.04 99303 619635
6 Ponnani 2003.5 59569 349473
Educational Institutions
Institutions Total Govt. Aided Unaided
School 1379 83 784 51
Higher Secondary 164 83 39 42
Vocational Higher Secondary 26 23 3 -
CBSE 35 - - -
ICSE 2 - -
Kendriya Vidyalaya 1 - - -
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Jawahar Vidyalaya 1 - - -
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To collect enough details connected with the problems of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribe students in learning English, the following high
schools have been visited by the investigator.
Govt. H.S.S., Kottappuram
Govt. H.S.S., Vazhakkad
K.K.M.H.S., Chekode
Omanoor High School
G.H.S. Irumbuzhi
H.I.O. High School, Olavattoor
Crescent High School, Adakkakundu
P.P.M.H.S.S. Kottukara
C.H.M.K.M.H.S. Irivetti
Ashramam School, Manjeri (Nilambur)
As per the details collected from Scheduled Caste development Office,
Malappuram, there are 15 scheduled castes extension offices and 8 Prematric
hostels for scheduled caste students in Malappuram district. The Prematric
hostels are at Vandoor (Girls), Trikkalangode (Boys), Pattikkad (Boys),
Mookkuthala (Girls), Edappal (Boys), Peruvallur (Boys) and at Manjeri
(Boys).
Two tribal extension offices in Malappuram are at Nilambur and
Edvanna. Ten Pre-matric hostels for scheduled tribe students are in the
following places: Manimooli (Boys), Odakkayam (Boys), Pookkottupadam
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(Boys), Edakkara (Boys), Nilambur (Girls), Nilambur (Boys), Pothukal
(Girls), Chungathara (Girls), Chungathara (Boys), Mambad (Boys).
Data needed for the study were also been collected from Vettilappara
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hostel near Areacode, Hostel for Tribal
students near Nilambur, Chelembra Colony near University of Calicut,
Chenayakkunnu Colony near Edavanna, Nediyiruppu Colony, Thiruvali
Harijan Colony and from Ponniyam Kurshi Colony, Malappuram.
Some of the notable details collected from these sources in
Malappuram district are given below:
• Nilambur is a forest region in Malappuram which is situated in the
Ernad Taluk. The main communities living in this thick forest are
Cholanaikkans, Paniyan, Kuruman and Uralis. With the help of the
teachers of Ashramam School, Nilambur questionnaires supplied to the
students in high school classes to understand their problems in learning
English. Some of the notable responses are given below.
• Learning English is a difficult task to a number of students because the
content of the text books are not related to local situations.
• Teachers of English are not co-operative and fail to understand the
learning problems of S.C. and S.T. students
• Teachers are not encouraging such students to mingle with students
from forward communities and thus to make them confident without a
feeling of inferiority.
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• The home environment of these students do not encourage the study of
English.
• The students from Urali tribes speak a tribal language which is a
mixture of Malayalam and Tamil slang. It is crude and unintelligible.
They are far below in the standard of English since the teachers of
English fail to teach them by translating English sentences into their
dialect.
Some other responses collected from various other sources are given
below:
• A large number of students face problem in understanding instruction
in the classroom.
• Lack of confidence in learning English and lack of sympathetic attitude
from the part of teachers.
• Majority of students neither get the help of learning English from their
parents or from the friends.
• The problems related to Accommodation physical facilities and
finance.
Cholanaickan
Cholanaikan tribe lives in the upper Ghat section (Chola) of the
Nilambur valley. According to Ananda Bhanu they are also known as “the
cave men of Kerala” (The Cholanaikkan of Kerala, 136). They lead a semi-
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nomadic life in the forests and have limited contact with the main stream.
They have been considered an offshoot of the major tribe Kattunaikkan. They
live in rock shelters (alai or kallualai) or in open camp sites making instant
leaf shelters (mana) for permanent abodes. Though 50 percent of them are
provided with houses, they still continue their semi-nomadic life.
Ashram school of Manjeri has been functioning since 1993 for the
tribal students. From the teachers working in this school it is understood that
many of the parents of Kattunaikkan students are unwilling to send their
children to this school since it is 50 kilometres away from their habitat. As a
result of the continuous pressure from the part of the officials more than 2
dozen Cholanaikkan children are studying in the Ashramam school now.
Kurumbar
Near Manjeri there are some hamlets of Kurumbar. Their language is a
mixture of Tamil and Malayalam. Hamlet of the Kurumbar is known as
“Ooru”. Each ‘Ooru’ has a headman called ‘Oorumooppan’.
As per the details from the socio-economic survey, the literacy rate of
the tribal groups in Kerala is 26.10%. The highest literacy rate is reported to
be among the Koragas (54.07%) and the lowest is among the Cholanaikkan
(9.17%). The literacy rate of Koraga is high, the quality of education received
is poor. It is observed that only 28.05% of the tribals have school facilities
within the radius of 1 kilometre. School facilities are totally absent in the
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Cholanaikkan area. High school facilities are not available to Kurumbar and
Kadar within the radius of 5 km.
Some of the main reasons connected with the problems of learning
English are given below:
• Apathy of parents
• Financial backwardness
• Medium of education
• Lack of motivation
• Distance of school
• Shortage of motor facilities and motorable roads
• Lack of occupation and income of parents for buying books
• Lack of infrastructure facilities like land, house, road, power and
drinking water.
The following responses and suggestions were given by Mr. A.
Ismailkutty, Headmaster, Government High School, Vazhakkad, Malappuram
regarding the socio-psychological and linguistic problems of scheduled caste
and scheduled tribe students in learning English.
Vazhakkad government high school is a famous high school in
Malappuram district situated near the bank of river Chaliyar. Majority of the
students in this school are from backward families. Between 20 to 30
percentage of the students are from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe
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families and have been coming from the colonies near Akkode,
Edavannappara, Cheekode and Elamaram. According to the headmaster these
students are very weak in written English. The parent teacher association is
very active and special coaching programmes are being arranged for students
who have difficulties in learning English. But they are not interested in these
classes.
CALICUT
The data collected from various districts in north Kerala are given
below:
Calicut, originally known as ‘Kozhikode’, is a district of historical
importance. The formation of this district was on 01 January 1957. The
boundaries of Calicut district are Kannur (north), Malappuram (South),
Wynad (East) and the Arabian Sea (West). This district has a beautiful
seashore of nearly 71 kilometres in length. Logan in his Malabar Manuel says
that “until AD 12 Kozhikode was under the control of ‘Cholathirimar’ and in
those days ‘Nediyirippu’ was one of the business centres of Eranad.
‘Eradikal’ attacked Kozhikode for building their ‘Koyil’ and ‘Kotta’. Later
the words ‘Koyil’ and ‘Kotta’ blended together and name Kozhikode as
formed.” Kozhikode was the capital of ‘Samoodiri Kings’ and historically it
is famous as the district where Vasco da gama, the Portuguese explorer
landed in the year 1498.
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The details collected from Kerala Census (2001) about Calicut district
are given below:
District : Kozhikode
Area : 2344 Square K.M.
Total population : 2878498
Taluks : Kozhikode, Badagara, Koyilandi
Villages : 117
Grama panchayaths : 77
Corporation : Kozhikode
Municipalities : Koyilandi, Badagara
National Highways : NH 17, NH 217, NH 213
Famous tourist centres : Thusharagiri, Peruvannamuzhi, Kadalundi,Kappad
Famous temples : Tali Temple, Kollam Pisharikkavu, Loganarkavu
Port : Beypore
It is believed that Kozhikode is one of the famous districts in Kerala
where the English education was implemented in the last century. At present
there are 12 blocks in Calicut. They are Badagara, Thooneri, Kunnummal,
Thodannur, Meladi, Perambra, Balusseri, Panthalayani, Chelannur,
Koduvalley, Kunnamangalam and Kozhikode.
The details given below are collected from the office of the District
Educational Officer, Kozhikode on 20th December 2007.
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There are 3 educational districts in Kozhikode. They are (a)
Thamarassery (b) Badagara and (c) Kozhikode. There are 39 government
schools in Kozhikode educational district, 11 in Thamarassery and 29 in
Badagara educational district. The District Educational Officer expressed his
views that majority of the students in various Government Schools in Calicut
are from very poor family backgrounds. Students from rich and educated
families get enough facilities and are often admitted in private English
medium or Malayalam medium schools from where they get better education
in Kerala state, or C.B.S.E. syllabus. Since such students get motivation and
favourable supports for their studies they have better standards of education
when compared to the students from poor families who are studying in
various high schools in the district.
1) Majority of the students in government high schools, especially those from
scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families never get enough facilities or
motivation to improve their standards of education. Most of the parents of
these children are illiterate and have no time or awareness to listen to the
educational matters of their children. It is a fact that English is a very
difficult subject for the students from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe.
They get support neither from their parents nor from their relatives in
improving or in the acquisition of a language like English.
2) Majority of government high schools in Kozhikode district do not have
adequate facilities like furniture, blackboard, building, light and drinking
water. A number of students from backward families meet their own
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educational expenses by working as newspaper boys, helpers and as
coolies during their holidays. Many such students never get enough time to
spend on their studies and very often poverty compel them to dropout from
their educational institutions.
3. In many of the high schools in Kozhikode district there is shortage of
qualified teachers for teaching English. Though there are qualified teachers
in the rank lists prepared by the Public Service Commission, steps have not
been taken for appointing enough teachers of English in the high school
classes. So English is taught by teachers who are handling subjects like
Physical Science, Natural Science and Mathematics. They have no basic
training to teach English. Students from Upper class families are getting
enough chances and facilities from their institutions. But students from
backward families, especially from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe
families have limited chances to attend special coaching or tuition classes
in English and hence learning of English is most often a burden to majority
of such students.
4. Majority of the teachers working in the high schools in Calicut district are
guest teachers. These temporary teachers are untrained and are without
enough experience. Their remuneration is on hour basis and many such
teachers are engaging English classes in various government high schools
at the same time. According to the District Educational Officer most of the
temporary teachers are business-minded and have no responsibility and
often fail to pay individual attention to the problem of the students,
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especially students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Thus
students are not getting access and chances, for the effective learning of
English.
5. In many of the private schools in Calicut there are facilities like language
laboratory and audio visual aids, to help the students who are backward in
English. These facilities are to an extent, helpful to them in acquiring
language skills and to improve their pronunciation and written English. But
majority of students from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families
studying in government high schools never get facilities like these.
6. The District Educational Officer, Calicut says that Parent Teachers
Association can do a lot to improve the quality of education and hence to
solve the problems of poor students especially from tribal families by
arranging special coaching programmes. In most of the government high
schools the Parent Teacher Association are not working properly.
7. In government high schools especially in city areas, students are not getting
enough working days. During festival seasons like Onam, Christmas and
Bakrid, various cultural programmes and festival fairs are being arranged
by the government in Government High Schools and hence many working
days are lost in those schools. Flood relief camps, youth festivals, meetings
arranged by political parties and similar programmes are also being
arranged in Government High Schools in city areas and matters like these
affect the education of the students.
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8. According to the district educational officer, majority of the students
studying in the high schools that are situated in the centre of the town (eg.
Model High School, B.E.M. high school, Ganapath High School,
Kuttichira M.M.High School and others) are from backward families. Most
often these students fail in subjects like English because they never get
concentration in their studies due to the occasional bandhs, hartals,
demonstrations and processions arranged by the political parties.
From the explanations some of the teachers who have been teaching
scheduled castes and scheduled tribe students it is understood that:
1. Children from upper class scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families
have less problems in learning subjects like English and often they have
excellent academic records to those students who came from middle class
and lower class families. These students have a more positive attitude
toward education.
2. Parent Teachers Organisations in many schools have been arranging
special coaching programmes in English for weaker students from
scheduled castes and scheduled tribe families. Social movements and caste
organizations can motivate the students to attend such classes and it may
gradually help to solve the problems connected with the learning of
English. In many schools Studying Aids like: ‘High School English
Grammar and Composition’ written by Wren and Martin and other similar
books are available free of cost for students from such families. But most
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often these students are unaware of this and as a result these books often
reach the hands of students from other communities.
3. According to some teachers economic factors and suppressive caste
ideology are the main reasons for the backwardness of these students.
Majority of the students from these families have family problems and
consequences of poverty. Thus socio economic and cultural obstacles
prevent them from acquiring proper education in an effective manner.
According to them the students from these families face the problems like
the low socio-economic status of parents, the cultural milieu of lower class
homes, the lack of educational experience on the part of the parents and
absence of achievement motivation. All these have been found to be the
problems connected with the educational achievement of the students.
The views expressed by Mr. Abdurahiman, Headmaster, Payyanakkal
Government High School, Kozhikode regarding the problems of scheduled
caste and scheduled tribe students in learning English are given below:
Payyanakkal Government High School is situated near Kallayi,
Kozhikode. It is situated in an area of 87 cents in an old building and without
enough educational facilities for the students. There is shift system in this
school. Nearly 2700 students are studying in the school and among them
nearly 60 percent of the students are from backward families. Nearly 30
percent students from the backward families are from scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe families. Some of these students are living near Payyanakkal
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and Kallayi in rented houses and are from Tamilnadu and Karnataka states.
Among them there are students from the following sub-classes under
scheduled castes and scheduled tribe communities.
(a) Paniya, (b) Kuruma, (c) Paraya, (d) Kalladi, (e) Kanakka (f)
Muthuva.
Majority of the parents are coolies engaged in cable work, fishing,
pottery and other jobs. When compared to students from other communities
these students are very weak in subjects like English and do not get enough
motivation and facilities to improve their standards in learning English
language. These families have no settled life and often wander about seeking
jobs on contract basis. Occasional family quarrels due to drinking habits of
parents affect their children and many of these students drops out from their
studies.
The views expressed by Mr.T.Mohammed Kutty, Hedadmaster in
charge, Government High School Puthuppadi are given below:
Puthuppadi Government high school is situated near Thamarassery
near the boarder of Wynad. There are nearly four tribal colonies and two
Harijan colonies near this school. Nearly 25 percentage of the students in this
high school classes are from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families.
These students are from the communities like Kanakkan, Cheruman, Paniyan,
Kuruman and Pariah. A number of these students are very poor in English
due to the occasional absence from their classes. During harvesting season
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students from tribal families are compelled to help their parents and as a result
many of them fail in continuing their education due to the shortage of
attendance. Special coaching in English has been arranged in this school but
students from tribal families do not show any interest and hence the
acquisition of English language becomes a great burden to such students.
The view expressed by Mr. K.Moideen and Mr. Balagangadharan,
Assistant teachers, Government High School, Nayarkuzhi regarding the
problems of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students in learning English
are given below. Government High School Nayarkuzhi is nearly 28
kilometers away from Calicut city. Nearly 25 percent of the students in this
high school are from backward, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families.
Majority of these students are from colonies like Malikathadam colony,
Priyadarshini Harijan Colony and Vellalassery Kushava Colony. The school
authorities have been arranging special coaching in English for the students
from backward families. But very often students from such families are
unwilling to attend such classes. A number of these students have economic
problems and are compelled to help their parents in paddy fields, tapping and
in similar types of jobs. Counselling and arranging awareness class for
parents may help to improve and motivate in learning and hence to solve
difficulties in learning subjects like English.
According to the details given by Hifzulla, teacher, Chennamangallur
High School, majority of the students from scheduled caste and scheduled
tribe families cannot read even a single sentence without committing
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mistakes. Some examples of common errors made by such students in reading
English words are given below:
form is read as foram
colours as kalarrrs
patterns as paatterrnns
earlier as eayrrlierrr
universal as younooniverrsaal
personal as peerrsons
zoo as jooo
pleasure as plajere
observation as abseerrvation
term as teerrmme
singer as sinker
These students very often make mistakes like this because of the
influence or pull of their mother tongue. When compared to other students
mistakes are common in students from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe
families.
A detailed list of the high schools in Calicut and the strength of
scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students studying in these schools during
the academic year 2007-2008 is given below. The details are collected on
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20.12.2007 from Mr. Sugunan Atholi, Statistical Officer, Office of the
District Educational Officer, Calicut.
Name of SchoolTotal No. of
studentsS.C. students S.T. students
St. George H.S. Velankode, Kodancherry
793 54 6
Holy Family H.S. Venappara 494 59 2
St. Thomas H.S. Thottumukkam
451 44 5
St. Sebastian H.S. Punnakkal 142 3 2
St. Mary’s H.S. Kakkadanpoyil 283 23 17
Koduvally Orphanage H.S. 958 22 2
M.K.H.M. M.O.V.H.S. for Girls, Moddom
834 32 4
Infant Jesus Eng. Medium H.S. Thiruvampady
880 23 3
Markaz H.S. Karanthur 904 7 1
Karuvanpoyhil G.H.S.S. 699 33 2
N.I.R.H.S. Parapanpoyil 674 16 2
C.M. Centre H.S.Madavoor 147 2 0
G.H.S.S. Avidanallur, Perambra
1039 151 67
G.V.H.S.S. Balusseri 960 34 3
G.H.S.S. for Girls, Balussery 1215 168 4
G.H.S.S. Kolathur, Nanminda 552 83 15
G.H.S.S. Kokkallur 1082 152 7
G.H.S.S. Naduvannur 1433 190 5
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G.H.S.S. Panoor 795 77 3
G.H.S.S. Shivapuram 585 98 2
G.H.S.S. Poovampayi 1296 152 6
G.H.S.S. Kayanna 282 34 4
Naduvannur H.S.S. 505 54 7
Nanmanda H.S.S 955 81 37
Nochad H.S.S. 1527 118 9
Palora H.S.S. 969 126 2
Pavannur H.S.S. 662 95 8
Perambra H.S.S. 2244 253 14
St. George H.S.S. Kulathuvayal 835 67 2
St.Joseph H.S. Chembanod 480 70 4
St.Marys H.S. Kallanode 607 49 9
St. Thomas H.S. Koorachundu 602 55 13
Koothali V.H.S.S. 700 74 3
Kuttampoor H.S.S. 438 51 7
Saraswathi Vidyamandir H.S. Nanmanda
236 8 1
Venerini H.S. Feroke 1588 43 2
Prim Rose H.S. Kottooli 43 3 1
Ayyathan Gopalan Memorial H.S.
450 11 4
Chinmaya Vidyalaya H.S.Chevayur
1017 35 4
S.N.Trust H.S. Chelannur 782 109 6
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Calicut Orphanage H.S. 235 1 0
J.D.T. Islam Eng. Medium H.S. 462 19 0
Crescent Public H.S. Madavoor 356 2 0
Calicut Islamic Residential H.S 146 1 2
P.V.S. H.S. Eranhikkal 236 10 3
G.U.H.S.S. Atholi 1667 237 66
G.U.H.S.S. Avala, Kuttooth 482 95 4
G.H.S.S. Azhiyoor 648 43 2
G.H.S.S. Badagara 287 9 1
Govt. S.K.T. H.S.S 142 3 1
G.H.S.S. Chorode 675 8 6
G.H.S.S. Kallachi 412 8 2
G.H.S. Kuttiadi 1011 14 13
G.H.S.S. Madappalli 1306 21 6
G.U.H.S.S. Meppayur 2275 151 9
K.K.M.G.V.H.S.S. Orkatteri 650 19 4
G.V.H.S.S. Payyoli 2187 139 9
J.N.M.G.H.S.S. Puthupanam, Vatakara
942 38 19
G.V.H.S.S. Boys Koyilandi 1362 114 42
G.V.H.S.S. Girls Koyilandi 1847 146 2
Govt. Mopla V.H.S.S. Koyilandi
10569 4 1
G.H.S.S. Valayam 950 9 2
G.H.S.S. Velliyodu, Nadapuram
946 11 9
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A.J.John Memorial H.S. Chathankottunada, Vadakara
1093 32 8
B.T.MN.H.S. Meladi, Koyilandi
353 41 1
C.K.G.M.H.S. Meladi 2309 139 4
M.J.V.H.S.S. Villyappalli 1450 16 1
Crescent H.S. Vanimel 1215 3 1
Iringannur H.S.S. 1117 22 6
K.P.E.S.H.S. Kunnummal 745 24 0
K.P.M.S.M.H.S. Orallur 644 54 0
K.R.H.S. Purameri 1360 35 1
Kunchali Mar4akkar H.S. Kottakkal
1000 21 3
Maniyoor Panchayath H.S.S 956 56 4
Menmunda H.S.S. Thodanoor 3154 72 1
M.U.M.V.H.S.S. Vadakara 2003 1 2
National H.S.S. Vattoli, Vadakara
2159 48 2
Poyilkavu H.S. 752 49 6
P.T.C.M.H.S. Kunduthodu 311 2 1
Rahmaniya H.S. Aayancheri 878 27 1
R.N.M.H.S. Naripatta, Kunnumel
1146 28 1
Thiruvangoor H.S. Chemanjeri 2952 226 0
Samskratham H.S. Vattoli 673 12 1
Shanti Nigethan H.S. Thiruvallur
1324 61 3
120
St. George H.S.Vilangdu 822 25 57
St. Mary’s H.S. Maruthongara 823 39 3
Vasudevashrama HS Naduvathoor
346 30 5
T.J.M. Girls H.S.S. 883 2 1
Vadakkambadu H.S.Paleri 1848 124 3
Velam H.S.Cherapuram 998 20 14
Holy Family H.S. Vadathukadavu, Changaroth
480 76 2
R.A.C.H.S.S. Kadameri, Aayancheri
1669 22 4
S.I.A. College H.S. Ummathur 187 1 0
S.N.H.S.S. Vadakara 636 28 0
G.RA.F.T.H.S.S.S (Girls) Koyilandi
120 4 3
S.I.H.S.S. Ummathur 875 5 1
M.I.M.H.S.S. Perode 1546 16 4
Ilahiya H.S.S. Kapad, Thiruvannur
1384 20 1
Meppayoor Salafi H.S.S. Meladi
282 1 0
Islamic Academy English H.S.S. Kottakkal
710 12 4
Darussalam H.S. Azhiyoor 63 0 1
I.L.S. Secondary School, Koyilandi
448 16 4
G.H.S. Koduvally 1977 140 12
G.H.S. Narikkuni 915 108 19
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G.H.S. Neeleshwaram 1283 143 1
G.H.S.S. Nayarkuzhi 602 137 3
G.H.S.S. Panur 949 121 2
R.E.V.H.S.S. 1103 270 3
G.H.S. Parambil 638 66 8
G.H.S. Payimbra 1058 144 2
G.H.S. Puthuppadi 1224 106 3
G.V.H.S.S. Thamarasseri 1482 222 11
C.M.R.H.S.S. 830 46 1
Kunnamanglam H.S.S 2177 199 15
Mukkam H.S. 284 115 1
M.K.H.M.M.O.H.S. Manassery 405 25 4
Sacred Heart H.S.S. Thiruvambady
1153 119 3
St. Joseph H.S.S. Kodanchery 875 69 5
St Joseph H.S.S. Pulloorampara
629 31 1
St. Mary’s H.S. Koodathayi 1487 172 10
St. Sebastian H.S.S. Koodaranchy
1317 97 22
St.Antony’s H.S. Kannoth 297 29 2
M.J.H.S.S. Elettil 2434 98 1
P.T.M.H.S.S. Kodiyathur 1923 156 7
Marygiri H.S. Maranjadi 127 3 1
Holy Family H.S. Kattippara (aided)
694 73 3
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Markz Karanthur 1660 3 6
V.M.H.M.H.S. Aavayamkunnu 1024 132 10
F.M.H.S. Koombara 693 16 7
St.John’s H.S. Nellipoyil 325 16 10
Chakkalakkal H.S. Madavoor 1769 115 2
M.G.M.H.S. Eengapuzha 2763 287 73
A.K.K.R.H.S. Girls Chelannur 1128 151 7
Calicut Girls H.S. Calicut 1869 8 2
B.E.M. Girls H.S. Calicut 2164 92 4
C.M.C. Boys H.S. Elathur 652 26 1
C.M.C. Girls H.S. Elathur 878 71 1
Farook H.S.S. 1740 151 6
Himayathul Islam H.S.S. 1201 0 1
J.D.T. H.S.Calicut 2075 164 1
M.C.C. H.S.S. 1825 145 2
M.M.V.H.S.S 1641 0 2
Patheerankavu H.S. 2068 158 42
Savio H.S.S. 1534 83 3
Providence Girls H.S.S. 1654 30 3
Seva Mandhir Post Basic H.S. Ramanattukara
1368 150 4
Ramakrishnan Mission H.S.S. 2629 50 5
St. Joseph Boys H.S.S. 1573 47 1
St. Micle Girls H.S. West Hill 2384 116 4
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St.Vincent Colony Girls H.S. Calicut
1006 92 17
Imbichi Haji H.S.S. Chaliyam 2151 81 6
Samoothiri H.S.S. Calicut 830 3 3
C.M.M.H.S. Elathur 611 62 2
C.M.H.S. Mannur North 902 98 6
St.Joseph Anglo Indian G.H.S.S. Calicut
1367 23 3
Gujarathi Vidhyalayam H.S.S. 441 223 4
N.S.S. H.S.S. Meenchantha (unaided)
417 8 2
Silver Hills H.S.S. (Pvt) Unaided
802 20 3
Presentation H.S.S. Unaided recognized
1651 60 6
Rahmaniya Calicut 326 24 8
Govt. T.T.I. Men Calicut 328 3 5
Govt. Achuthan Girls H.S. Calicut
1253 84 2
Govt. H.S. Aychavattom 1106 49 6
G.H.S.S. Beypore 1703 42 4
Cheruvannur G.V.H.S.S. 1866 105 3
G.H.S.S. East Hill 55 8 6
Ganapath Boys Calicut 1741 75 9
Govt. Ganapath Model Girls H.S.S.
1531 41 1
Ganapath V.H.S.S. Feroke 2722 261 31
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Ganapath H.S.S. Kallayi 174 5 2
Nadakkavu Govt. V.H.S.S. (Girls)
1322 119 4
Kakkodi G.H.S.S. 226 34 1
Karaparambu G.H.S 166 7 75
Mavoor G.H.S.S 1049 154 2
G.V.H.S.S. Meenchantha 3090 33 2
Kinassery G.V.H.S.S. 953 20 1
Model H.S.S. Calicut 965 36 1
Parayancheri G.H.S. (Boys) 205 28 2
Parayancheri G.H.S. (Girls) 175 17 6
G.H.S.S. Kuttikkattoor 2093 178 2
G.H.S.S. M C Campus 2244 201 4
Payyanakkal G.V.H.S.S. 2094 27 5
G.H.S.S. Peringalam 1508 136 1
G.H.S. Iringallur 1274 39 5
G.H.S. Kunduparambu 773 106 2
G. Fisheries H.S. Puthiyappa 252 1 3
NGO Quarters G.H.S.S. Marikkunnu
258 70 7
G.V.H.S.S. Kuttichira 244 0 1
G.R.F.T.H.S. Beypore 51 1 2
A.K.K.R. Boys H.S. Chelannur 509 64 4
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From the statistical report collected from the Office of the Deputy
Director of Education, Calicut, it is understood that the number of high school
students from the SC and ST families studying in various high schools in
Calicut district are not alike. In some schools, especially, in the schools near
the forest areas and rural areas the number of SC and ST students are more
when compared to the schools that are situated near the city or urban areas.
So it was decided to supply the questionnaires for the collection of the data in
the following schools situated in village areas where there are enough number
of students belonging to SC and ST families.
(1) Government Higher Secondary School, Kuttikkattoor
(2) V.M. Higher Secondary School, Anayamkunnu
(3) M.G.M. Higher Secondary School, Eengapuzha
(4) Fathima Matha High School, Koombara
(5) Government High School Koduvally
(6) Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Thamarassery.
(7) Sacred Heart High School Tiruvampady
(8) P.T.M. High School, Kodiyathur
(9) R.E.C.V.H. School, Chathmangalam
(10)Government Higher Secondary School, Nayarakuzhi
(11)Government Secondary School, Mavoor.
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Among these schools P.T.M.High School, Kodiyathur, Sacred Heart
High School, Tiruvampady, Govt. Vocational Higher Secondary School,
Tamarasssery, V.M.H.School, Anayamkunnu, Fathima Matha High School,
Koompara and M.G.M.H.S. Engapuzha are situated near forest areas where
there are enough number of students in the high school classes belonging to
the various sub castes under the scheduled tribes. Questionnaires distributed
in these schools with the help of teachers and more than 300 responses are
collected. After the analysis of the questionnaires the following observations
could be made.
1. 21 students from scheduled Caste and 14 students from scheduled tribe
whose parents are educated and employed in the Government services had
less problem in understanding the English language. Encouragement and
motivation from their parents had influenced those students, to an extent,
in understanding the language.
2. 12 students from scheduled caste families and 6 students from
scheduled tribe families responded that due to the shortage of electricity in
their houses they could not study at night and the lack of facilities like
table, books and similar things had prevented them from the effective
learning of English.
3. 30 to 40 percent of the students responded that they have problems in
learning English due to the faulty method of teaching English. Owing to
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the lack of teacher-taught relation these students are not motivated in
learning English as a compulsory language.
4. Besides the problems indicated above a great number of the students
both from the SC and ST families have some other symptoms commonly
related to learning disabilities. Some of those problems are given below:
• Poor performance on group tests
• Poor memory power
• Slowness in reading and writing English
• Confusion caused by instructions
• Delays, disorders, and deviations in listening and speaking
• Difficulties in reading, writing and in spelling
• Learning disabilities more common in boys than girls
• Irregular spelling, pronunciation, and structure of the English
language.
• Writing disability called ‘Dysphasia’ or ‘aphasia’
• Impaired written language ability like impairments in handwriting,
spelling, in organization of needs and in composition. This disability is
called “disgraphia”.
• Disorders of speaking and listening
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• Reading disability called ‘Dyslexia’
From the analysis of the questionnaires collected from the students it is
understood that students from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families
have a lot of problems in understanding English language in their classrooms.
Beyond the notable complaints and problems indicated above it is understood
that there are some other problems also that affect their proper understanding
of the language.
The opinions expressed by Mr. Karunakaran, Director, Coaching cum
Guidance Centre for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,
Vellimadukunnu, Calicut and by the Director, Pre-examination Coaching
Centre, Cherooty road, Calicut are given below:
These coaching centres have been arranging special coaching and
guidance for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students. Along with this
study aids references books, and pocket money are also being supplied to the
students from the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families. The
authorities often appoint efficient and specialized teachers in these centres for
providing proper guidance and counselling to the students from these
communities. Though enough facilities are given the numbers of students
who attend these classes are very few. According to these officials, coaching
centres like this are very effective and, to an extent, helpful to understand the
problems of such students and to solve them. But the ignorance and lack of
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interest on the part of the learners prevent the authorities from achieving
success in their attempts.
Officials in the field of the development of tribal students like the
Tribal Extension Officers, Thamarassery, Kalpetta, and Malappuram
expressed their opinions which given below.
1. Very often students from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families
fail to secure good education due to financial problems. A sound
financial position is a prerequisite for not only admitting a child in a
good school but also in providing a conducive environment at home.
Parents of weak economic position very often admit their children in
schools which do not possess even minimum requirements. According
to them poverty has a direct bearing on home conditions and it places
restraints on parents in meeting the food and health requirements of
their children. Children from poor homes are handicapped by poor
attendance and higher rates of sickness. This may lead to regular
absence from the classrooms and gradually to difficulties in learning
the core subjects like English and Mathematics.
Many social workers and well-wishers in the field of education and
development of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes were interviewed as
part of the study. Advocate P. Chathukutty, Social Worker, Erimala near
R.E.C.Calicut and Mr.P.K. Ayyappan, Social Worker in Priyadarshini Colony
in Chathamangalam Grama Panchayath expressed their opinions that the
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education and occupation of the parents have been found to be highly
significant in the academic performance of their children.
The urban slum children grow up in homes where there are no books
or newspapers and are restricted in geographic experience due to the blocks
surrounding their dwellings. Their parents like themselves are likely to have
been earlier victims of limited educational exposure.
According to them the most difficult subject to learn from high schools
classes is English. The main reasons of this difficulty are lack of proper
teaching and training to the students along with guidance and counseling.
Very often teachers of English ignore students of weaker sections without
giving proper guidance and counselling and this may lead, to a great extent, to
problems and difficulties in learning subjects like English.
According to them in schools along with Parent Teachers Association
(PTA) the Mothers Parent Teachers Association (M.P.T.A) can also help a lot
the students who have problems in learning English. Overcrowded classes can
be divided into batches on the basis of the learning ability of the students.
Arrangements like this may help to identify the existing problems of the
students learning English. The active participation of the Mother’s Parent
Teacher Association (M.P.T.A.) may help to a great extent to pay individual
attention to students and thus eradicate the difficulties faced by students from
scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families in learning English as an
essential subject in their curriculum.
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According to Baar “the greatest success of an individual as a teacher is
in his implementation of his role (a) as a director of learning, (b) as a friend
and counsellor of pupils (c) as a member of a group of professional persons
and (d) as a citizen in various community activities (The Measurement of
Teacher Characteristics and Prediction of Teacher Efficiency p.169-174).
Interviews were arranged with Mr.T.K. Abdurahiman, Deputy Director
of Higher Secondary Education, Calicut Zone on 10th December 2007 and
with Chettoor Mohamed, Employment Officer, Nilambur (retired),
Malappuram on 13th January 2008. Both of these officers were interested in
the education especially in the English education of scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe students in the high schools of north Kerala. Both of them
stressed that the teachers of English, working in the high schools in the
northern districts of Kerala have lot of responsibilities in motivating
scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students. According to them students in
the tribal areas get very little access and opportunity for learning English. A
teacher in those areas should be a model to them. The problem of students of
English is closely related to the effectiveness of teaching. Some people say
the standards of English are falling due to the poor performance of the
students. But the main reason for it according the officials mentioned above
are given below:
(a) poor academic qualification of the teachers
(b) poor professional training because of sub standard quality of
teacher education centres
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(c) disinterest of teachers in their professional growth
(d) entry of less brilliant persons into teaching professionals
(e) lack of motivation and distaste on the part of teachers
(f) teachers who are overloaded with work and hence do not find
time to bring up their standard
(g) non-participation of teachers in refresher courses related to
English teaching.
Responses were collected from high school students from scheduled
caste and scheduled tribe families living in some of the urban areas.
The following details were collected from Mr.K.Gopalakrishnan,
District Scheduled Caste Development Officer, Kozhikode on 29th December
2007.
In Calicut district there are 7 Pre-matric Hostels for Scheduled Caste
students. These hostels are situated in the places noted below.
(a) Prematric Hostel, Kanniparmba, Mavoor
(b) Prematric Hostel, Iringallur
(c) Prematric Hostel, Elathur
(d) Prematric Hostel, Chelannur
(e) Prematric Hostel, Avidanallur, Balussery
(f) Prematric Hostel for Boys, Azhiyoor
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(g) Prematric Hostel for Girls, Azhiyoor.
The post-matric Hostels of Calicut district are at Thiruthiyad near
Azhakodi Temple, Calicut and at East Hill Calicut. In every hostels there is a
warden, and a watchman. The authorities appoint special teachers in these
hostels for arranging special coaching in subjects like English, Mathematics
and Science.
The details given below were collected from Mr.P.Radhakrishnan,
Head Clerk, District Tribal Development Office, Civil Station, Calicut on 28 th
December 2007.
In Calicut district the Prematric Scheduled Tribe Hostels are situated of
(a) East Hill (b) Badagara (c) Pookkadavu (d) Kunnamangalam and (e)
Puthuppady, near Thamarassery.
According to the details given by the head clerk it is understood that
the “Karimbalan” tribe had not been included in the list of ‘scheduled tribes’
until the year 2003. Later they were included in the list and since then their
number has increased and ‘Karimbalan tribe’ is more in number in Calicut
like the second populated tribe, ‘the paniyas’. Now, there are nearly 2400
Karimbalan families in Calicut. According to the records published by the
Kozhikode district Panchayath, among the tribal communities in Calicut,
Kadar, Muthuvan and Kattunaikkar are less in number when compared with
‘Paniya’ and ‘Kurichiya’. The ‘Kattunaikka’ colonies in Calicut are situated
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in: (a) Cheepilode near Kodencherry, (b) Near Muthappan Puzha,
Tiruvampady and at (c) Kudal para Near Maruthongara, Kuttiadi.
As a part of the study the investigator asked some questions with some
of the officers working in the various offices connected with the education
and welfare of the tribal students. Some of the notable information and
suggestions collected from them are given below.
1. Generally the students of high school classes are weak in
English. The students from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families
are weaker when compared with the other section of the students from
other communities.
2. Though the government is providing hostel facilities for the
high school students and arranging special coaching in subjects like
English, students from those communities are not attending such classes
regularly and generally the enrolment of such students in the hostels are
very few in numbeer. The general opinion received from the wardens of
these hostels and from the teachers who have been engaging coaching
classes in English, is that unlike olden days, many of the families are now
‘nuclear families’. Many parents are unwilling to send their children into
the hostels that are very often far away from their houses. From the
officials if is understood that a monthly stipend of Rs.45 along with a
lumpsum grant of Rs.220 being supplied to the tribal students residing in
the hostels. Besides this, they are also getting chapels, umbrella, bag, two
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sets of dress and uniform for those who are residing in the hostels. There
are many promoters in the various places in the district who have been
making attempts to motivate the students from scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe families for learning subjects like English.
Mrs. Mary Varghese, District Scheduled Tribe Development Officer,
Calicut expressed her opinion that most often the Scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe students fail in S.S.L.C. examinations especially in English
because these students never get enough access to English. The students in the
tribal hostels ignore the special coaching classes for them and keep away
without any interest in learning. She suggested that arranging awareness
classes, to an extent, will be helpful to motivate such students and their
parents and hence encouraging the students in their learning.
The hostels for Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are run by the
financial assistance from the Tribal Development and from the Harijan
Welfare Department, Government of Kerala.
As a part of this study, 2 hostels run by the government and one run by
the financial assistance from a committee were visited. From the government
hostel for scheduled caste students, Mavoor, the following information were
collected.
Total number of SC students in this hostel are 87. Since this hostel is
situated near Government Higher Secondary School, Mavoor and
Government Mopla U.P.School, Mavoor, all the students in this hostel are
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studying in these two schools. Out of 87 students 51 students are studying in
the high school classes and the remaining 36 are studying in Government
Mopla U.P.School. Out of 51 high school students 28 students are studying in
VIII standard, 17 students in IXth standard and the remaining 6 students in the
S.S.L.C. class. With the permission of the warden discussions were made with
the students on the problems connected with their learning of English.
Questionnaires were supplied to them and necessary instructions given to
answer the questions in the questionnaire. After a detailed analysis of the
questionnaires it could understand that majority of the students residing in the
hostel had problems in learning English. Some of the notable information
collected from them are given below.
1. The students of SC and ST communities studying in the high schools
face problems in learning English due to the faulty method of teaching
English.
2. A number of teachers who are engaging the English classes are not
permanent teachers. Very often such teachers of the guest faculty leave
the school without prior notice to the headmaster and as a result in the
remaining period of the academic year the portions remaining
unallotted due to the shortage of new teachers.
3. Though there are provisions for special coaching classes to teach
English in the hostels, the way of teaching is not effective and hence
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there is no motivation from the students. Most of the teachers
engaging these classes are untrained and hence incompetent.
4. Poor perception and lack of conceptualization unhealthy classroom
climate and lack of scholastic motivation prevent the students from
acquiring the English language skills.
5. Though the language plays a crucial role in a child’s environment, the
unstimulating environment at home and hostels, cause language
deprivation in the students.
6. A number of the students have problems in reading English due to the
confusion of similar words, difficulty in using phonics and in slow rate
learning.
7. Many of the students have difficulty with sentence structure, poor
grammar, omitted words, frequent spelling errors, letter reversals and
difficulty in copying from the blackboard.
8. Some students reported that they face problems in paying attention
when listening to the English class and taking notes.
9. A number of students reported problems in oral communication. These
students face problems in the expression of ideas orally. They have
difficulties in using English for the description of events and stories in
a proper sequence.
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All the problems mentioned above were given by the students of Mavoor and
many of them are learning disabilities connected with the learning of English.
According to Dr.G. Narayana Rao, Professor, Department of Special
Education, Andhra University “some children have normal intelligence, but
they are unable to achieve the basic skills of an expected normal rate. This
may be called a learning disability. Genetic, pre-natal and post-natal factors
sometimes lead to learning disabilities” (Learning Disabilities 10).
After visiting the SC Hostel at Mavoor, another hostel for scheduled
tribe students, near Kunnamangalam was visited. This hostel is situated near
‘Cherinchal’ near C.W.R.D.M. and the following details were collected from
the warden of the hostel.
There are 36 students belonging to scheduled tribe communities in
these hostels. 22 students out of 36 are studying in Kunnamangalam and
Peringalom High Schools. The remaining 14 students have been studying in
the neighbouring upper primary schools at Kunnamangalam. Students from
various sub tribes like Kurichiyar, Paniyar, Muthuvar and Kurumar are
residing in this hostel and most of them are from various places in the districts
of Calicut, Wynad and Kannur.
Some of the major information collected from the hostel after an
interview with the students and the wardens are given below:
1. Most of the students are not getting individual attention from the
teachers who are teaching English.
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2. Some of these students cannot write even a single sentence in English
while some others reported that they can understand the meaning of
English sentences, but they fail in writing grammatically correct
idiomatic sentences.
3. Some of the students reported that the English language is very boring
to them since the teachers of English often fail to explain the meaning
of the sentences in translation method.
4. Some of the residents in this hostel are from very poor family
background and such poor socio-familial conditions made them
backward in their learning of English language.
5. Though the authorities have been trying their best to uplift the
standards of these students in learning English most of the students are
not motivated in learning English language.
6. As an example of the psychological problems of the students, the
warden responded that from his experience, a number of the students in
the hostel have inferiority complex and are unwilling to mingle and to
face other students residing in the same hostel.
As a part of the investigation a visit was arranged at Unnikrishnan
Memorial SC and ST Hostel near Mokkom, Calicut, managed by a local
committee. In this hostel there are 71 students belonging to both SC and ST
communities. Out of 71 students 46 students are studying in the neighbouring
Channamangallur and Mokkam High Schools. Among the SC students,
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students from the sub castes like Kanakkas, Mannan and Velas and among the
ST students who belonged to Paniya, Kuruma and Cherumas have been
staying in this hostel. From the questionnaires supplied to the students and
from the personal interview arranged with the warden the following
information were collected.
1. English language is the toughest subject for a number of students in the
hostel.
2. Reading habit is very poor among the residents and even though there
is reading room attached to the hostel, the residents are not making
proper use of it.
3. Though special coaching classes in English and Mathematics have
been arranged in the hostel most of the students are not motivated in
attending those classes and are not interested in learning the language.
4. The authorities had provided dictionaries to all the residents in the
hostel. But many of them sold them to their friends at a cheap rate and
had collected their pocket money.
5. Many of the residents in this hostel, had reached there to get relief or
as an asylum away from drunken or cruel hearted parents.
6. Some parents had admitted their children in these hostels to avoid the
responsibility of looking after the children.
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As a part of the collection of data many visits were arranged in the
various scheduled caste and tribe colonies situated in the various areas of
Calicut district.
For the collection of enough details from these colonies the support
and help from the members of the following clubs, were received.
(a) Shilpi Kalavedi, Chittaripilakkal, Calicut
(b) Athira Sports and Arts Club, Pazhur
(c) Priyadarshini Cultural Club, Parayarukottummal
(d) Eco Recreation Club, Nayarkuzhi, Calicut and
(e) Caste and Tribe Sahayavedi, Mavoor, Calicut.
Information was collected from the parents and relatives of scheduled
caste and scheduled tribe students residing in various colonies.
Names of some of the colonies from where responses of the parents
were collected are given below.
1. Malikathadam Colony, Chathamangalam Panchayath.
2. Cheruthadam Colony, Munnoor
3. Mysore Math Adivasi Colony, Anayamkunnu
4. Kushava Colony, Chakkadankunnu and Advuradu Colony
5. Sarkar Colony, Nellikkaparamba
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6. Harijan Colony, Puthukkudi Kunnummal
7. Panarukandi Colony, Thamarassery and Kakkadampoyil colony
8. Sanketam colony, Vellalassery and Karassery tribal Colony
9. Poovar Mala Colony, Koduvally
10. Mutheri Harijan Colony, Mokkam
11. Mullankunnu Colony, Peruvannamuzhi, Perambra.
Besides the colonies indicated above, the investigator had many
occasions to meet the parents of similar types of students residing in various
other colonies in and around Calicut. Some of the brief opinions and
suggestions received from the parents about the problems faced by their
children in learning English are given below.
1. English is a very difficult subject to most of the students of high school
classes who are residing in these colonies.
2. The students of these colonies are not getting any encouragement from
the colonies or from the surroundings to motivate them in learning
English.
3. There are no tuition centres attached to their colonies to help them get
extra coaching in the difficult subjects like English.
4. The parents of most of these students are uneducated and hence
ignorant about the importance of education, especially about the
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importance of English. They are unable to help their children in
learning English.
5. Since there are some community halls attached to some of these
colonies with public TV sets, a number of the students in the colonies
regularly spend their time in front of the TV sets and hence keeping
away from their studies.
6. Frequent quarrels and disputes in the colonies connected with drug
addiction and similar problems distract the students in the colonies and
often affect their learning.
On the basis of the responses and similar data mentioned above
collected from officials, teachers, parents, authorities, students, social workers
and well wishers residing and working in the various places in and outside
Kozhikode the following conclusions have been drawn.
1. The poor performance of SC and ST students in English in Kozhikode
district indicate that there is urgent need for adequate educational
counseling at the high school level for the SC and ST students.
2. The teachers of English are not paying special attention to SC and ST
students during their teaching of English.
3. English is not usually taught to SC and ST students by trained and
competent teachers with a special training to teach SC and ST students
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4. The teachers of English are not motivating SC and ST students to learn
English.
5. The teachers are not trying to identity the individual problems of the
learners in learning English.
6. The teachers are not providing enough opportunities for SC and ST
students to mingle with students from other communities and hence to
avoid their inferiority complex, which is one of the major
psychological problem affecting their studies.
7. Though there are coaching classes in English connected with their
hostels, very often the learners are not making effective use of them.
8. The home environment of the SC and ST students does not encourage
the study of English.
9. SC and ST students do not listen to radio and TV programmes in
English.
10. The students feel inferior when they compare them with the students of
other communities. Feeling of inferiority encourages them to keep
away from their studies.
11. When text books in English are prescribed the average student in
English alone is kept in mind and the teachers and authorities often
ignore SC and ST students who are the depressed and weaker sections
of the society.
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The atmosphere of English classes is very often sour, foul or stifling
according to the mood of the teacher. Most of the teachers of English are not
interested in teaching. There is less teacher taught relationship. If the teachers
are active, energetic and enthusiastic the atmosphere of the English class can
make sweet or fragrant.
Many experts in the field of education agree with the view that “The
aims and objectives of education largely depend upon the effectiveness of the
teachers.
After collecting the details and conclusions mentioned above
connected with the problems of learning English among the SC and ST
students in the high schools in Calicut district attempts were made to collect
data from students of other districts in northern Kerala.
WYNAD
It is believed that the word “Wayanad’ originated from ‘Vayalnad’ or
from ‘Vazhinad’ or ‘Vananad’. The Madras Manuel of Administration (196)
says: “In Sanskrit the name of Wynad is “Maya Kshetra” which later
transformed as ‘Mayanad’ or ‘Wynad’.
This district is situated at a height of 700 to 2100 metres from the sea
level and has the boundaries of Kozhikode (West), Malappuram (South),
Kannur (North) and Neelagiris (West). Wynad is the district of hills and
mountains with a beautiful scenery. The region Wynad comprises of north
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Wynad taluk of the Kannur district and South Wynad taluk of the Kozhikode
district.
147
148
The main tribal communities inhabiting Wynad are the Kurichians, the
Paniyans, the Kurumans, the Kattunaikkan, the Adiyans, the Kadars, and the
Pulayan. Wynad area has 28% of the tribal population of the state. They are
mainly shifting cultivators, food gatherers and hunters. Most of these tribes
are illiterate, timid, unaggressive, and prefer a secluded existence being very
shy of contacts with sophisticated non-tribals. They avoid entering towns and
cities, keep close to the jungle and the hill and manage to live on forest
produce. Most of the tribes have a distinct social organization with a
‘Headman’ called Mooppan, Thalayan or Mootukani. The details about
Wynad given in Manorama Year Book (2008, 307) is given below:
District : Wynad
Area : 2131 square k.m.
Population (2001) : 780619
Male : 391273
Female : 389346
Urban : 29612
Rural : 751007
Hindus : 392141
Muslims : 209758
Christians : 175495
Sikh : 17
Budha : 42
Others : 1903
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Scheduled castes : 33364
Scheduled tribes : 136062
Literacy rate : 85.25%
Taluks : 3
Villages : 49
Blocks : 3
Panchayaths : 25
Educational Institutions
Institutions Total Govt. Aided Unaided
School 291 165 115 11
Higher Secondary 38 20 11 7
Vocational Higher Secondary 7 5 2 -
CBSE 9
ICSE 1
Kendriya Vidyalaya 1
Jawahar Vidyalaya 0
The huts in which many of the tribals live are so small that there is
hardly any room to move about. The roof of the hut is too low and the lowest
edge of it virtually covers the entrance. The inner space of the hut is so small
that there is an unhealthy congestion even for a household of normal size.
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According to the details collected from the tribal development
department there are 108 pre-matric hostels for tribal students in Kerala. They
are:
DistrictPre-matric
hostels for boysPre-matric
hostels for girlsTotal
1 Thiruvananthapuram 1 1 2
2 Kollam 2 2 4
3 Alappuzha 0 1 1
4 Pathanamthitta 1 1 2
5 Kottayam 1 1 2
6 Iduki 6 7 13
4 Eranakulam 2 2 4
8 Thrissur 3 1 4
9 Palakkad 14 9 23
10 Malappuram 2 3 10
11 Kozhikode 3 1 4
12 Wynad 18 11 29
13 Kannur 5 3 8
14 Kasargode 1 1 2
From the list given above it is understood that the majority of the tribal
hostels are situated at Idukki, Wynad, and Palakkad. These districts are the
thickly populated tribal areas in Kerala state. The concentrationof the tribal
families in Wynad is more in Manantavady and Wythiri. The Pre-matric
hostels in Wynad district are situated in the following places.
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Pre-matric hostels for Boys Pre-matric Hostels for Girls
Meppadi, Pinangode, Kaniyampetta,
Kakkavayal, Kalpetta, Chethalayam, Mullan-
kolli, Vakeri, Meenangadi, Pulpalli,
Veliyamban, Ellumantham, Pallikkal,
Vellamunda, Thondarnad, Anchukunnu,
Thalappuzha, Kattikkulum, Peruvaka,
Panamaram
Kavumannam, Meenangadi,
Vaduvanchal, Mattappara,
Cheeral, Ambalavayal,
Trissileri, Mananthavadi,
Ellamantham
The hostels mentioned above are scattered in the various places of
Wynad when these have no enough facilities of transportation. It was
impossible to distribute the questionnaires in every hostels for the collection
of the data needed for the study. As there was the need of the collection of
samples from different sub tribes included under the scheduled tribe
community it was decided to choose some selected hostels when there were
enough tribal students.
With the help of some local people near Kalpetta an interview was
arranged on 10th October 2007 with some students studying in various high
schools near Kalpetta. Later second interview was arranged on 5 th January
2008 with some of the parents of tribal students living in Edappatti Adivasi
Colony near Collectorate, Kalpetta. 14 students and 8 parents participated in
the interview. Among these students 5 students were from Kurichya families,
2 from Paniya, 4 from Kattumayikka and 3 from Paniya families. The age
group of these students was between 14 and 19 and among them there were
girls and boys studying in classes VIII to X. Some selected responses
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collected from these students to the questions asked about their socio
psychological and linguistic problems in learning English are noted below:
1. English is the toughest language to learn for many of these students.
2. In mixed schools, sometimes teachers ignore tribal students and never
pay special attention to those who are poor in learning English as a
foreign language.
3. Some teachers of English are not following the translation method in
teaching English.
4. Some of the students are not motivated in learning English and they
attend the classes simply to get the mid-day meals from their schools.
5. Owing to the problems of the seasonal work in their villages, a number
of students are compelled to go for daily wages, and this presents them
from attending their classes regularly.
In Edappatti Adivasi Colony there were no adequate facilities for
motivating the tribal students in the acquisition of English language. There are
more than 50 small houses in the colony and among them many houses are
with bamboo screens and grassy roofs. Because of the acute shortage of
drinking water and electricity, the members of the colony responded with
complaints. Among the respondent coolies, porters, honey and fruit gatherers
from the forests and even those who have been doing secret toddy business
from their houses. Some of the responses of parents are given below:
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(1) There is the urgent need of electrification in their colonies
which would help to motivate their children in their proper education.
(2) Since many of the students in the colony are poor in English
and mathematics necessary arrangements should be made for tuition
centres attached to the colony.
(3) Providing drinking water facility, building a common grave
yard and availability of enough bank loans will help the inhabitants for a
better life and thus encourage their children for better education.
In connection with the collection of data from the high schools in
Wynad, questionnaires were supplied to the students in the following schools
in Wynad in the first week of November 2007.
a. G.H.S. Kakkavayal
b. S.N.H.S.S. Poothadi, Kenichira
c. St. Thomas H.S. Nadavayal
d. G.H.S.S. Kaniyampetta
e. Loordh Madha H.S.S. Vallikunnu
f. G.H.S. Kakkavayal and Thariyode
g. G.H.S. Thalappuzha
h. G.H.S. Ambalavayal
i. G.H.S. Meppadi
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j. S.K.M.J.H.S.S. Kalpetta
k. G.H.S. Meenangadi
l. Sarvodaya H.S. Echom, Panamaran
m. Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Residential H.S.S., Kallur
n. Model residential school, Pookode
o. G.H.S. Thariyod and Wythiri
p. Ambedkar Memorial H.S. Nallornad.
After the analysis of the questionnaires it is understood that the
respondents from these schools belonged in the following sub tribes.
No. Sub casteTotal
respondents
1 Kurumar 60
2 Cheruman 9
3 Mannan 7
4 Pulaya 17
5 Adiya 11
6 Paniyar 32
7 Kurichiyar 29
8 Kattunaikkar 24
Among the sub tribes indicated above, the number of students from the
‘Kurichiya’ tribe was more in G.H.S. Thariyode. G.H.S. Kakkavayal and
Loordh Matha H.S.S. Vellikunnu. There are enough ‘Kattunaikka’ students in
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Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Residential School, Kallur, Model Residential
School, Pookode and Ambedkar memorial H.S.S. Nallurnad. The
concentration of ‘Paniya’ students are found in Manantavady, Kaniyampatta
and Kalpetta while enough Kuruma, Pulaya and similar other tribes are
present at Kalpetta, Battery, Meppadi and at Manantavady. Some of the
selected problems collected from the responses of these students connected
with their problems in learning English are given below.
• Increasing drop out from the school due to various reasons which
affect their proper learning of English
• Lack of educational facilities especially in schools in rural areas. Many
parents are unwilling to send their children to far away places.
• Acute shortage of specialized and trained teachers in English for
teaching the tribal students.
• Shortage of transportation for reaching the schools in interior areas.
• Imposition of domestic responsibilities that prevent the students from
coming to the schools.
• Occasional festivals, and ceremonies in their families or in the
colonies. As Jacob John Kattakayam says:
The religion of the tribes is animism-totemism and polytheism, but
due to the influence of the Hinduism, and Christianity the ancient
faiths and forms of worship have more or less disappeared from
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the tribal areas. They worship Sastha, Kali Siva, Vishnu,
Subramaniya, Ayyappan and other sylvan deities (Social Structure
Among the Tribes 40).
• The Koragas, Kurumbas, Irulars, Paniyas and many others perform live
sacrifices. They arrange occasional functions and ceremonies in their
families. For this purpose they collect money from others and finally
become victims of debt. Ceremonies like this prevent their children
from attending the classes regularly.
• A number of students responded about their facilities in the hostels.
Boarding grants, special incentives to talented students and incentives
to parents of Tribal students have been offered by the government to
motivate them to stay in the hostels. But the expected result has not
been received so far from the part of the students.
• Many children remain in their houses to make free their parents to go
out of home for undertaking economically rewarding activities. At
home as C.N. Shankar Rao says:
Children not only sweep, wash, collect water, fuel, fodder, mind
younger siblings and animals but also work in the fields and help
their mothers in home-based piece rate work they may be engaged
in (Sociology of Indian Society 618).
• The Kattunaikkans have some other names like Kadu, Jenu or
Tenkurumans. Cholanaikans is a sub group of Kattunaikkans. In olden
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days they used the back of trees for clothing and had very little contact
with non tribals. The majority of Kattunaikkans is “king of jungle”.
They use ornaments made of materials available in the forests and
speak a dialect of mixture of southern languages. Some of the students
from these families suggested that understanding English would be
easier for them if the teachers would be ready to teach English through
translation into their tribal languages.
Sri Velayudhan and Sujatha social workers who are interested in the
development of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students helped the
investigator for a visit and to collect the opinions from the students and
parents living in Nedunkayam, Mundukadavu and Vaniyampuzha colonies in
Wynad. The details collected from them are given below.
Many families in this area belong to Kattunaikkan the primitive tribal
group in northern Kerala. This tribe has some other names like “Kadu
Kurumba and Jenu Kurumba”. As per the 2001 census the population of this
tribe is 12155 consisting of 6271 males and 5884 females.
The Kattunaikkans are sub tribes under scheduled tribe. Though they
are distributed in Wynad, Malappuram and in the remote areas of Kozhikode,
nearly 85 per cent of them live in Wynad. The investigator met 26 families
belong to Kattunaikkan from the colonies mentioned above. There were 26
students (16 girls and 10 boys) studying in various high schools in Wynad
from these colonies. Most of them very often absent themselves from their
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classes due to various reasons. Among the families in these colonies only a
few families had made use of the financial support of the tribal development
scheme and had started rearing domestic animals and cultivating vegetables in
the nearby lands. As a part of the interview it was understood that the
students from these colonies had no facilities to learn and to arrange any kind
of remedial measures for improving their students in subjects like
Mathematics and English. The houses constructed for them are of low quality
without considering their need based and ecological conditions. There is an
Ashram school functioning at Noolpuzha for students from Kattunaikkan
families but the parents remain apathetic in sending their children to school.
Some of the students in this colony had T.B. and suffer from Malnutrition,
scabies and fungal inspection. Health care facilities are totally absent in
Cholanaikka habitats. In the studies conducted by G.S. Ghurye
“Kattunaikkans are aboriginals in the state and they are the progeny of
padmakya, who was the son of a Hegade chief and a rakshasi wife. The
rakshasi was the daughter of Hidimba and Saumalini” (Castes and Class in
India 136).
According to V.S.Ketkar “It is believed that Kattunaikkans are the
modern representatives of primitive Kurumbas or Pallavas, who dominated
south India till they were finally defeated by the Chola King in 7th century.
There after they were forced to live in the forests” (History of Castes in India
237). The Kattunaikka students who are tall and dark with curly hair prefer
the education in model residential and ashram schools. They show high
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aptitude towards modern education and are interested in learning English. But
the lack of motivation and shortage of facilities prevent them from learning
English with proper interest.
• In many of their houses, the parents are drug addicts. They use alcohol
regularly that causes family quarrels and this prevents their children
from getting concentration in their studies.
• There is the shortage of coaching classes and tuition centres in their
colonies for encouraging them to learn English.
• Many of their houses are made of bamboo, straw and grass. Many of
them depend on roots, herbs and honey for their daily life. A good
number of Kattunaikkans are doing the job of forest watchers under the
forest department. Aptitude to cultivation is a recent development
among them. So many of the parents encourage their children to do
jobs connected with the forest and agriculture and prevent them from
going to their schools.
• A good number of Kattunaikkans are superstitious. They worship trees,
rocks, hills and snakes. They believe in mantras and magic and have
regular contact with the Hindu gods. They worship sun and moon. On
festival days children keep away from school continuously.
• Interviews were arranged with the Director, Kirtads, Chevayur, Calicut
on 5th September 2007 and with the section clerk on 6 th September
2007 from the research wing connected with the tribal education. A
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brief details collected from them regarding the problems of scheduled
tribe in Wynad in learning subjects like English are given below:
• In Kerala there are 36 tribal communities. As per the Census Report
(2001) the total tribal population in Kerala is 320,967. The Paniya
tribe is the biggest tribe among the tribal communities. Paniya
community has a total population of 67,948 with 33,273 males and
34675 females. It is believed that 21.17% among the Adivasis in
Kerala are Paniyas and 97.1% of the Paniyas are living in village areas.
The Paniyas in Wynad are the settled group who have come from
Ippimala, an interior place near Meppadi in Wythiri Taluk.
According to K. Ellan, President, Kerala Paniya Samajam, majority of
Paniya families are in half starvation. In Wynad a good number of Paniyas are
still living like ‘Kudiyans’ (landed gentry) under the control of ‘janmis’
(serfs) as it was the condition in the olden days. In the books Dravidian
Tribals (68) published by Thiruvananthapuram International School of
Dravidian linguistics it is remarked that “the Paniyan reached Wynad from
Ippimala, the hilly areas near Banasura”. According to William Logan in his
book Malabar Manuel (586) “The Adivasis in Kerala including Paniya
reached here from Sansibar in Africa. In olden days these people were the
slaves of traders like the “moors” in their ships. When their ships wrecked
they reached land and later settled in the forest areas in Wynad. As per the
descriptions in the Malabar Manuel (570) given by Logan “colonism and
oppression of the janmis’ had started in the beginning of the 5th century and
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later a lot of Adivasis in Kerala were compelled to lead their lives as slaves in
the hilly areas.”
Students from Paniya families pay attention to functions and
ceremonies. Most often keeping away from their schools and ignoring their
studies. A “Mooppan” (Leader) from Kunchom Ambedkar Colony near
Mananthavady reported that every year the Paniya families near
Mananthavady celebrate their grand festival of Valliyoorkav Bagavathi
temple. They consider it as the “grand festival of the Paniya tribe. During
these days they refuse to send their children to the school and for many days
such students keep away from their studies.
The details collected from Mr.Vellan (68 years) and his wife Vellachi
(58) resident sin Kuppadikunnu colony, in Battery are:
Starvation is the major problem that prevent the parents from sending
their children to schools. In olden days the Paniyas were free in the forest
areas and lived happily collecting the fruits, roots and honey for their
livelihood. At present the forest is under the control of the Forest Department
and very often the tribals become the victims of exploitation of the officials
from the departments.
Mr. Balaram, Secretary, Paniyar Samajam said that the formation of
the Samajam was in 1975 and since then it had been conducting a number of
programmes and complementing schemes for the socio-psychological and
educational development of the Paniya community. It has been arranging
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tutorial and tuition classes for the high school students in Wynad district
especially in subjects like English and Mathematics.
“Sarva Siksha Abhayan” (SSA) has started single teacher school in
tribal areas. Though the government expect a better development of the
community due to the shortage of trained teachers for teaching English,
students from Paniya families are still backward in subjects like English and
Mathematics.
The cases connected with the arrest of Muthanga in Wynad due to the
strike headed by Mrs. Janu (Gothra Mahasabha) reveal that majority of the
members participated were from Paniya tribes. Victims of this strike are still
living in the colonies at Muthanchira, Nenmenikunnu, Koyilippara, and
Thelempetta near Muthanga. There are students in these colonies who are
studying in high school classes. But starvation, due to the price hike compel
them to seek jobs other than cultivation and very often students drop out from
their classes or fails in their examinations.
Many teachers of English teaching the scheduled caste and scheduled
tribe students in the high schools in Wynad and many parents of such students
complained that their children no longer read textbooks or any other books
from their homes. It is a fact that today the reading habit is dead and today’s
children are tempted by various other distractions like the T.V. channels,
computer games and DVD players. They have neither the inclination nor the
time of read. According to Christine Nuttal, “they can’t read because they
don’t read; and they don’t read because they can’t read” (The Journal of
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English Language Teaching (India), Vol. XLV, August 2007). For motivating
the students the teachers of English can display good books within the
students’ reach – in the class room as class library or on the bookshelf in the
drawing room. The child will feel like touching the books, opening them,
looking at them out of sheer curiosity. For motivating them the teacher can
read aloud the stories to children as an activity. Make this reading interactive
or turn the story into a drama. While reading the teacher can stop in the
middle and ask children to guess what happened next. This will encourage the
students who are shy or poor to participate in the discussion and later in
motivating them in the learning of English.
Some students expressed their opinions that a number of teachers of
English go straight to the textbook of the beginning of a lesson without
spending few minutes chatting to the class about topics of interest. The
teacher can talk and ask some questions connected with their daily life or
home situations. This would be a good technique for motivating low level
students especially students from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe
families. Chatting with students in English creates an opportunity for real
language practice and creates an “English language” atmosphere in the class.
Regular practice of chatting with the students establishes contact with the
class and helps students feel relaxed and ready to learn.
The teachers of English should simplify the English they use in the
classroom if there are scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students. It should
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suit to the comprehension level of the students and stick to everybody in the
classroom.
A number of scheduled cast and scheduled tribe students expressed
their opinions that many teachers of English do not use blackboards during
their teaching of English. They suggested that using simple, short sentences
and gestures to show each of the actions and using blackboards, to a great
extent will be useful for the easy understanding of English. Minimum one
training institute for training the teachers for the scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe students may be started in every state and there should be
provisions to get them trained in tribal languages.
The syllabus of the B.Ed. and T.T.C. courses should include topics on
special education of the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students.
Teachers of the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students should be
given comparable scales of pay plus special allowances for encouraging them
to come forward to teach those students who are backward in subjects like
English.
For the education of the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students
more separate and special schools should be arranged and the curriculum for
them adopted to meet their needs for learning languages like English, Home
Science and other relevant subjects.
No scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students should be denied
admission in any school merely on grounds of disability.
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Educational opportunities for the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe
children should be expanded to fulfill the goal of universalisation of
education.
Along with special schools and integrated schools, there should be
schools for non-formal education – special curriculum should be adopted to
meet their needs for learning English and other relevant subjects.
Syllabus of the special schools for scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes may be revised suitably giving the importance to English along with
physical education sports and games, crafts, martial arts and mobility along
with orientations.
According to the tribal welfare officer in charge of the coaching classes
in Kynatti near Kalpetta, Wynad and the Headmaster Kaniyampetta High
School, Wynad, in most of the high schools in Wynad area where there are a
number of tribal and backward students, there is the shortage of competent
teachers for teaching English. In Wynad the condition of English language
teaching is pitiable. Non English hands are given to teach English simply
because a number of posts of English teachers still remain unappointed. This
is very unsatisfactory and results in ineffective learning of the English
language.
KANNUR
Mr. Unni Ammayambalam, Correspondent, Madhyamam observes
about Kannur district (Madhyamam, Velicham 5).
166
167
The formation of Kannur district was on 1 January 1957 and it has an
area of 2996 square kilometer. As per the census report (2001) the total
population in Kannur district is 2412365. The three taluks in Kannur districts
are Kannur, Taliparamba and Thalasseri. The total number of villages in
Kannur is 129 and total number of grama panchayaths is 81. The famous
cities in Kannur are Kannur, Thalasseri, Taliparamba, Payyannur,
Koothuparamba, Edakkad, Peringalam, Peravoor, Irikkur and Azhikode.
N.H.17 passes through Kannur district and this district is famous for the
temples like Kottiyoor temple, Parassinikadavu temple and Sri Muthappan
temple. The famous tourist centres in Kannur are Aralam, Ezhimala,
Muzhuppilangad beach and Kannur Fort.
Kannur district has an important place in the Kerala history. It is the
land from where the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British and the French had
fought together for their existence. Kannur is the district famous for both art
and culture, and as the land that had encouraged literary figures like
O.Chanthu Menon, Herman Gundert and N.V.Krishna Varier.
Many literary works published by these writers that printed and
published from Thalassery in Kannur district. Kolathunad and Arakkal Rajas
in Kerala history were closely connected with Kannur district. The well
known places in Kannur are the following Dharmadam island, Mappila Bay,
Payyambalam Beach, Muzhuppilangad Beach, Thalasseri Temple, the Palace
of Gundert, Pazhassi dam, Parassinikadau, Paithalmala and Ezhimala.
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A brief list of Educational Institutions in Kannur is given below:
Educational Institutions
Institutions Total Govt. Aided Unaided
School 1268 274 966 28
Higher Secondary 109 62 28 9
Vocational Higher Secondary 16 15 1 0
CBSE 29
ICSE 1
Kendriya Vidyalaya 3
Jawahar Vidyalaya 1
The blocks in Kannur districts are the following Payyannur,
Thaliparamba, Irikkur, Kannur, Edakkad, Thalasseri, Iritty, Koothuparamba
and Peravoor.
The total scheduled caste and scheduled tribe population in Kannur
district is (Census 2001) given below:
Total Population GeneralScheduled
CastesScheduled
Tribes
2408956 1152817 1256139 98991 19969
Source: Kerala Census (2001)
The premature hostels for scheduled tribe students in Kannur are in the
following places Iritti, Kolayad, Padiyoor, Vayathur, Naduvil, Kelagam and
Pattiam.
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As part of the collection of data in Kannur district, a visit was arranged
to the district educational officer, Kannur on 15th December 2007. The
following details have been collected from Mohan, Statistical officer, Office
of the District educational Office, Kannur. Almost in all the three taluks in
Kannur, there is tribal population. Majority of the scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes are in Kannur Taluk. The places like Elayavoor, Madayi,
Ancherakandi, Chembilod, Cherukunnu and Muzhuppilangad are in Kannur
Taluk and there are more scheduled tribe families in Peravoor, Iritti and
Aralam. The thickly populated scheduled caste area in Kannur district are the
following Mattool, Cherukunnu, Pappinisseri, Kanchi Mangalam,
Srikandapuram, Alakode, Ramantali, Ezhom and Payyannoor.
On the basis of the information given above it is decided to distribute
the questionnaire in the high schools that are situated in these areas.
After distributing the questionnaires the details were collected from the
following schools in Kannur district.
1. Panchayath High School, Pappinisseri
2. Madayi High School, Pazhayangadi
3. Kottila High School, Ezhom
4. Cherukunnu High School
5. G.H.S. Poozhathi
6. I.M.V.H.S. Mayyil
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7. C.H.M.High School, Varam
8. Munderi Govt. High School, Kanchirode
9. G.H.S. Thottada
10. Rajas High School, Chirakkal
11. Mubarak High School, Thalasseri
12. P.R. Memorial High School, Kolavallur
13. Moothedath High School, Thaliparamba.
Questionnaire has also been distributed at the hostel to the scheduled
caste and tribe students of Padyam, Iritti and at Vazhathur
Some of the notable information collected from the ST and ST students
studying in these high schools and from some of their parents are noted
below.
1. A number of students expressed their views that they are very
poor in learning English due to the problem of wrong method of teaching.
2. 25 per cent of the students and parents complained about
their distance from their colonies to their schools.
3. A great number of students are weak in English due to the
difficulty in understanding English grammar.
Some of the notable problems other than mentioned earlier are noted
here.
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• Problems in understanding the instruction of the English teachers
• Lack of sympathetic attitude on the part of the teachers
• Lack of confidence in learning English
• Lack of motivation from parents, teachers and social workers
• Occasional disturbance from their neighbouring colonies
• No separate study rooms in their houses
• Lack of facilities both in the house or at the schools.
As a part of the investigation interviews were arranged with special extension
officer, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, Kannur, and with a number of
students, and their parents in the colonies mentioned below in Kannur district.
(a) Kannaram and Koodali colonies, Thalasseri
(b) Muzhuppilangad and Chembilod colonies
(c) Ramantali Harijan colony
(d) Ummathur Parakkadavu colony
(e) Vallur Tribal colony, Taliparamba.
Some of the notable information collected from these places are:
• A number of students face problems in learning English due to non-
intellectual home atmosphere.
• Majority of the parents of the students are rural based. They are
illiterate and face financial difficulties.
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• The children of agricultural labourers drop out from the school due to
seasonal work.
• Lack of interest in attending classes due to discrimination from
classmates.
• Lack of individual attention from the teachers.
• Lack of proper guidance from the family or from the society in
learning English.
The opinions expressed by a number of teachers, Mubarak School,
Thalassery regarding the problems of scheduled caste and scheduled tribes in
learning school are:
Mubarak School is situated near Thalassery town in Kannur district.
Majority of the students in this school are Muslims. Students from scheduled
caste and scheduled tribe families sit in the classrooms as separate gangs.
They feel a kind of inferiority complex and are very often unwilling to mingle
with students from upper class families. According to the teachers in Mubarak
school there are many students from “Mukkuva” (fishermen) families and
them very often absent from the classes during monsoon seasons as they have
to help parents and relatives for fishing. Among them there are very rough
rude and violent students who behave very badly in the class rooms.
According to the teachers backward students like them need counseling and
special remedial coaching classes to improve their standard in subjects like
English and mathematics.
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Opinions regarding the difficulties of scheduled caste and scheduled
tribe students in learning schools were collected by the following head
masters in Kannur and Kasargode districts:
1. Government High School, Kasargode
2. Chattanchal Higher Secondary School Thekkil, Kasargode
3. Government High School, Kottodi.
4. Jamath High School, Chithari, Kanchangad
5. Ikbal Higher secondary School, Mangalassery, Kanchangad
6. P.R. Memorial Higher Secondary School, Kolavallur,
Thuvvakkunnu, Kannur
7. Sir Syed High School, Taliparamba, Kannur
8. Moothedath High School Thaliparamba
9. K.K.N.Pariyaram Government School, Kannur
10. Munderi High School, Kathirode, Kannur
Some of the notable opinions collected from them are:
1. When compared to other students the students from scheduled caste
and scheduled tribe families get less assistance from their parents. Private
tutors are employed by the parents of upper class and rich families to
provide academic help to their children outside the classroom. This is an
essential remedial measure in the case of those who are not able to cope
with their studies in subjects like English. Scheduled caste and scheduled
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tribe students studying in high school classes rarely get facilities like this
due to financial and family problems.
2. Reading habits other than class books are very poor in students from
scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families. Regular reading of
newspapers, periodicals, fiction, biographies and similar books contributes
to the general intellectual development of students. The importance of
collateral reading has been widely recognized and children’s interest in
this greatly depends upon parent’s initiative in supplying the necessary
reading materials to them. The intellectual atmosphere at home can be
created by regular reading habits. But students from scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe families rarely get chances like this and hence fail to
improve their standard in English language.
3. The impact of parent’s occupational position on children’s educational
achievement was also highlighted by some of the headmasters. Problems
of lower class children have been identified in terms of the parent’s low
occupational position which lead to lower incomes and this is likely to
have a great deal of impact on the academic performance of their children.
According to the headmasters children of parents in high status
occupations score good marks in subjects like English when compared to
children of unskilled workers and self employed people.
4. Regarding the parent’s income and children’s educational achievement
the headmasters expressed their opinions that poverty can make a parent
less willing to keep a child at school; can make it difficult for him to
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afford books and toys or additional help to solve the problems in learning
difficult subjects like English. Students from high income families enjoy
many advantages. Parent’s education and professional success creates high
self-confidence in students. Majority of the students from scheduled caste
and scheduled tribe families face problems in learning due to lack of
confidence and motivation from the parents.
KASARGODE
The details given below connected with the socio-cultural backgrounds
of Kasargode district were collected from the famous journalist cum short
story writer Shanthosh Echikanam from Kasargode district.
The Etymology of the word “Kasargode” is from the Kannada word
“Kasara” which is a tree with a bitter taste. In Malayalam it is known as
“Kanchiram”, a tree that supply bitter fruits. In Kannada “Kode” means “a
place”. According to Unni Ammayambalam, correspondent, Madhyamam
daily, “Kasara” and “Kode”, are places where there are “Kasara trees.” The
formation of Kasargode district was on 24th May 1984. The Arabian travelers
who had reached Kerala in olden days had given the name “Harkitiya” for
Kasargode district. Since Kasargode is situated as a boarder district near
Karnataka, the natives of Kasargode speak a mixed variety of Language. In
Manjeswar, one of the villages in northern Kasargode people are multilingual
and speak Hindustani, Kongini, Urdu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and
English. Manjeswar Malayalam is also known as “Byari Malayalam”.
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According the Madhyamam reporter Biju T. Balan, Manjeswar
Brahmins speak ‘Karada’, Havirkka and ‘Kotta’. These are three language
varieties of Kannada. Along with these languages, a number of people from
Manjeswar also use ‘Shetty Tulu, Koraga Tulu and ordinary Tulu in their
everyday use” (Velicham Madhyamam, 21 April 2008, Kozhikode edition).
The name of the blocks in Kasargode districts are given below:
(a) Manjeswar, (b) Kasargode, (c) Neleswar, (d) Kanchangad.
A brief detail of Kasargode district as given in Manorama Year Book,
2008 (p.313) is given below:
District - Kasargode
Area - 1992 square kilometer
Population - 12,04,078(2001 census)
Male - 588083
Female - 615995
Urban - 233700
Rural - 970378
Hindus - 705234
Muslims - 413063
Christians - 84891
Sikh - 85
Budh - 42
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Others - 113
Scheduled castes - 90218
Scheduled tribes - 30338
Literacy rate - 84.57%
Taluks - 2
Villages - 75
Panchayats - 39
Source: Manorama Year Book, 2008.
Kasargode is situated in the extreme north of Kerala with the boarders
Karnataka (north and east), Kannur (south) and Arabian sea (West). In this
district there is a beautiful seashore of 77 kilometers. The famous cities in
Kasargode are the following:
Kasargod - Uduma
Kanchangad - Cheruvathur
Trikaripur - Badiyadukka
Kumbala - Bandadukka
Manjeswar -
The tourist centres are Bekal Fort, Kottancheri and Kappil Beach. The
famous temples in Kasargode are Ananthapuram temple and Madoor temple.
Total number of educational institutions in Kasargode is given below:
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Educational Institutions
Institutions Total Govt. Aided Unaided
School 526 287 220 19
Higher Secondary 71 51 11 9
Vocational Higher Secondary 16 13 3 0
CBSE 15
ICSE 2
Kendriya Vidyalaya 2
Jawahar Vidyalaya 1
In Kasargode there are 4 Nursing schools, 2 Pre-matric hostels, one
Ayurvedic dispensary and one Model residential school for scheduled tribes.
The Pre-matric hostels are of Balanthode (Boys) and at Vaninagar (Boys).
The Post-matric hostel for scheduled caste is at Vidyanagar (Boys) and the
Post-matric hostels for scheduled castes are at Badiyadukka (Boys),
Karadukka (Boys), Kasargode (Girls), Kolathur (Boys), Kanchangad (Girls),
Bangalam (Boys) and at Pudamkellu (Boys). The scheduled tribe extension
officers in Kasargode district are at Panathadi, Enmajakey and at Kasargode.
The following places in Kasargode are included under the blocks given
below:
(a) Manjeswaram Block
(1) Belur, (2) Kumpadaja, (3) Mangalpadi, (4) Vorkadi, (5) Poothigay,
(6) Meencha, (7) Manjeswar, (8) Kumbala, (9) Vypalikey, (10) Enmajakey,
(11) Badiyadukka.
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(b) Kasargode Block
(1) Karadika, (2) Muliyar, (3) Delampadi, (4) Chengala, (5)
Chemmanad, (8) Bedadukka, (7) Madur, (8) Kuttikkol, (9) Mogralputhur.
(c) Kanhangad Block
(1) Uduma, (2) Ajanur, (3) Balal, (4) Kodambelur, (5) Madikkai, (6)
Pallikkara, (7) Panathadi, (8) Pulloor Periya, (9) Kallar.
(d) Neleswaram Block
(1) Cheruvathur, (2) Kayyur-Cheemeni, (3) Neeleswaram, (4) East
Eleri, (5) Peelikode, (6) West Eleri, (7) Trikkarippur, (8) Kinanur
Karinthalam, (9) Padanna, (10) Valiyaparamba.
The two taluks in Kasargode are Kasargode and Hosdurg and the two
Municipalities are Kasargode and Kanhangad.
In Manjeswaram block there are one hundred and fifty lower primary
and upper primary schools. These schools are scattered in eleven panchayats.
Among these, there are thirty four schools under Kumbala revenue district. In
Kumbala Kannada is the medium of instruction in twenty three schools and
Malayalam in eleven schools. In Manjeswaram sub district there is Kannada
medium in forty three schools, Malayalam in seven schools and both Kannada
and Malayalam in seventeen schools. There is not a single school in Vorkkadi
panchayath where there is Malayalam medium school.
The details given by Manjeswaram Mekhala Malayalam Samithi
Secretary M.K. Ali are given below:
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“Most of the Kannada medium schools in Kasargode, especially in
Manjeswaram, are under the management of minority groups who are afraid
of division fall in their schools by the implementation of Malayalam. Though
there are many families in this locality who are willing to tech their children
in Malayalam medium schools, there are no enough facilities for higher
education. According to the social worker, Ali, there are 50476 families in
Manjeswaram block and the total population is 297098. Among them 147291
are male and 149807 are females. In Manjeswaram there are 20336 scheduled
castes and 15633 scheduled tribes. Kasargode is the only district in Kerala
where we can see folk art forms like “Poorakali”, “Kolkali” and
“Yakshagana” at the same place. It is a place of historical importance where
thousands of people visit every year to see and worship at “Mallikarjuna
temple” and at “Malik Deenar Masjid”
A number of high schools, colonies, parents are offices in Kasargode
were visited. Some notable information collected from these sources are given
below:
(1) Among eleven English teachers working in eleven different high schools
in Kasargode there are only 4 teachers with a basic degree in English with
a B.Ed. training. All the remaining teachers are either graduates or
postgraduates in subjects other than English. Among these 4 of them are
men and 7 are women. The teachers with basic degree in other subjects
are incompetent in teaching spoken English and other types of skills. They
are ignorant in phonetics and untrained in teaching English to the students
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in the high school classes especially to the students who are weak and
belong to backward communities like scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes. It is a fact that these types of students are in need of individual
attention.
(2) Among the eleven teachers mentioned above only two of them have only
more than 15 years service and all the others have below fifteen or five
years of service. They have neither attended nor participated in any
programmes or orientation classes arranged in connection with the
discussions of the English learning problems of weaker students especially
students from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families.
Teachers of English who have been teaching in the high schools in the
various parts of the Kasargode districts were interviewed. To the query,
“What considerations influenced your final choice of teaching English?”
Various types of responses were received. Some of the teachers who belong
to the High Teacher Effectiveness said that they joined the profession out of
interest for working with the students and interest for teaching English. Some
other teachers who belong to the Average Teacher Effectiveness Group
responded that they had joined the profession on account of the following
reasons: interest in teaching, teaching is a noble and honest profession, liking
for working with students, coming of a teacher family and similar types of
other responses. Along with replies like there some of the teachers from the
Low Teacher Effectiveness Group said that they had joined the profession in
order to eke out their livelihood. From the responses given above it is clear
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that only those teachers of English who are interested in the profession of
teaching English can motivate students effectively especially the students
from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families in learning English.
To the questions asked to the teachers of English “Who influenced
your final choice of becoming a teacher?” A number of teachers from various
high schools in north Kerala responded differently. The replies were “none” –
relatives – friends – myself and similar types of other answers.
Teachers of English in the high school classes very often get enough
leisure. Many of the teachers of English do not devote their leisure time to
correction work. By teaching a language like English there is the need of
helping the learners for the acquisition of the language skills like listening,
reading, writing and speaking English, Among these skills speaking and
writing are the active skills or creative skills while listening and reading are
passive skills. Very often a number of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe
students in the high schools are very poor in writing and speaking English.
Only the teachers who are specialized and competent in practicing these skills
to the backward learners can motivate them with the help of suitable
techniques and methods. Therefore only those teachers who are competent
and interested in teaching English to the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe
students should be appointed in the areas where there are similar types of
students.
A number of parents and officials in the field of the education and
welfare of the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students stressed the
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importance of the role of English teachers in motivating scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe students in the high school classes. Modern educational
technology stresses the importance of communicative language teaching.
Students learn language from their surroundings through situational approach.
But backward students from such backward families especially from
scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families never get enough facilities for
communicating English. A teacher is a guide or a motivator. But most of the
teachers of English are passive like their own students and they neither guide
motivate or help the learners for the acquisition of a language like English.
All educationalists, no matter how different their ideas, agree that
teacher effectiveness is the most important determinant of what constitutes
effective teaching. The concept of an effective teacher varies from person to
person, place to place and from culture to culture. What is found applicable to
one type of students may or may not be applicable to another set of students.
Students from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families are entirely
different from other types of students especially in their attitude to learning,
motivation and interest in learning. Only a competent teacher of English can
influence such varieties of learners implementing suitable and appropriate
educational technology for motivating them.
As part of the investigation responses were collected from scheduled
caste and scheduled tribe students from the following high schools situated in
various places in Kasargode in the first week of August 2007:
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(1) G.H.S. Kasargode, (2) G.H.S. Theyanur, (3) G.H.S. Kottodi, (4)
G.H.S. Kuniya, (5) Jamat H.S.S. Chithari, (6) Ikbal H.S.S. Mangalasseri, (7)
H.S.S. Chattanchal.
Responses have also been collected from some of the parents and
students residing in the following colonies in Kasargode in the first week of
August 2007.
(1) Chithari Tribal Colony, Kanchangad
(2) Adoor Arikadi and Kunchathoor Colony
(3) Mangalassseri Harijan Colony
(4) Thalangara Harijan Colony
In the first week of August 2007 details were also collected from the
following hostels for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in Kasargode.
Badiyadukka S.C. Hostel
Bangalam S.C. Hostel
Kasargode S.T. Hostel
Balanthode S.T. Hostel.
A detailed list of SC and ST Hostels for Pre-matric students in
Kasargode is given below:
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S.C. Hostels S.T. Hostels
Badiyadukka Kasargode
Karadukka Panathodi
Kolathur Enmakajay
Pudukallu Balanthode
Bangalam Vani Nagar
Kanhangad -
Some of the notable information collected from these sources about the
problems of SC and ST students studying in the high schools in Kasargode in
learning English are given below:
• Since English language learning is very difficult to learn for a number
of students, enough special coaching centres near their colonies and
houses should be arranged.
• The number of S.C. and S.T. promoters to guide and motivate the
students is very few. English promoters and counsellors should be
appointed.
• Attached to a number of colonies there are toddy and wine shops.
Occasional quarrels create problems and affect their studies.
• Night classes and tutorial classes in learning English will be useful to
an extent and there should be local teachers who are fluent in tribal
languages when they teach English.
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• Awareness classes to motivate the parents should be arranged so that
parents will encourage the students for learning.
• A number of students face inferiority complex and are not ready to
mingle with the classmates. Counselling of the teachers will be useful
as a remedy.
• Provisions against poverty and privations should be arranged.
• Lack of social mobility and problem of inter cultural communication
are major retarding factors.
• Communication barrier between the teacher and taught since both of
them belong to different cultures.
• Most of the teachers of English (other teachers also) who get
appointment in tribal area schools are disinterested. They leave the
place due to lack of proper residential facilities and communication
facility.
• Lack of sincerity on the part of officials who are in charge of the
implementation of welfare schemes for SC and ST students.
• Shortage of textbooks, pocket money, dress and similar facilities.
• Special text books of English with the study aids in tribal languages
will be useful.
• There should be facilities for better communication, sanitary
programmes and provisions for better study materials.
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• Teachers of English should be more friendly and frank, should
understand the problems of the students in reading, writing and
speaking.
• Enough audiovisual aids should be used during teaching English.
• Main reasons of dropping out of students are poverty, domestic
matters, family quarrels, alienation and such other problems.
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