The director of public education was tasked with overseeing the survey in all districts, with support from local education officials. The goal is to identify schools that are violating state educational rules.

“Strict action will be taken against such schools,” Sivankutty said.

Action against the exploitation of tuition fees in aided schools

During the press conference, the minister also raised concerns about aided schools continuing to demand large sums of money from parents under the guise of “donations” or building funds.

“We must put an end to this. Kerala is a state where the state government is investing heavily in public education and its infrastructure. So we are launching an investigation to identify schools that are operating in violation of Kerala education rules “, Sivankutty said.

Unregulated schools on the rise

The minister stressed that some schools are born without an adequate framework, where even the most basic standards are ignored.

He said that today in Kerala, the situation is such that anyone can rent a house, hold a school board and open a school, where students do not even have space to gather.

“They appoint teachers without any qualifications, design their own syllabus, decide their own exam dates and questions, and award grades themselves. They also collect huge fees from parents – not just fees tuition, but money under almost 10 different headings,” the minister said.

These schools, he added, operate in total violation of existing regulations, depriving students of a systematic and holistic education.

“For children in preschool classes, education is not just about studying books. They develop their personality and character through interaction with peers, games and gatherings. These schools do not have the means to promote such activities,” Sivankutty added.

Investigation to reveal extent of problem

Currently, the state government does not have an accurate count of these schools, and the investigation is expected to shed light on the scale of the problem.

He was holding a press conference to launch the E-Cube Hindi language lab for students of upper primary classes to help them learn communicative Hindi better.

Sivankutty said the government agenda now wants every student to learn at least two other languages ​​besides their mother tongue, and ICT (Information, Communication and Technology) has an important place in public education.

The government previously launched the E-Cube English Language Lab to help students become better proficient in communicative English.

He said the government school festival would be held in Thiruvananthapuram from January 4 to 10, where over 15,000 students will compete in over 249 subjects.