Editing Kerala model (section)

==Education==
[[File:Kulakkada GVHSS.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A government school in [[Kottarakara]] ]]
[[Pallikkoodam]], a school model started by Buddhists was prevalent in the [[Malabar District|Malabar region]], [[Kingdom of Cochin]], and Kingdom of [[Travancore]]. This model was later acquired by Christian missionaries and paved the way for an educational revolution in Kerala by making education accessible to all, irrespective of caste or religion. Christian missionaries introduced Western education methods to Kerala. Communities such as Ezhavas, Nairs and Dalits were guided by monastic orders (called [[ashrams]]) and Hindu saints and social reformers such as [[Sree Narayana Guru]], [[Sree Chattampi Swamikal]] and [[Ayyankali]], who exhorted them to educate themselves by starting their own schools. That resulted in numerous Sree Narayana schools and colleges, [[Nair Service Society]] schools. The teachings of these saints have also empowered the poor and backward classes to organize themselves and bargain for their rights. The [[Government of Kerala]] instituted the [[Aided School]] system to help schools with operating expenses such as salaries for running these schools.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=14 February 2020 |title=Kerala acts to rein in aided schools |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/editorials/2020/Feb/14/kerala-acts-to-rein-in-aided-schools-2103121.html |access-date=18 September 2024 |website=The New Indian Express}}</ref>

Kerala had been a notable centre of [[Veda|Vedic]] learning, having produced one of the most influential Hindu philosophers, [[Adi Shankaracharya]]. The Vedic learning of the [[Nambudiri]]s is an unaltered tradition that still holds today, and is unique for its orthodoxy, unknown to other Indian communities. However, in feudal Kerala, though only the Nambudiris received an education in [[Veda]]s, other castes as well as women were open to receive education in [[Sanskrit]], mathematics and [[astronomy]], in contrast to other parts of India.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} [[Tirunavaya]] was a centre of Vedic learning in early medieval period. [[Ponnani]] in Kerala was a global centre of [[Islam]]ic learning during the medieval period.

The upper castes, such as [[Nair]]s, [[Tamil Brahmin]], [[Ambalavasi]]s, [[St Thomas Christians]], as well as lower castes such as [[Ezhava]]s had a strong history of Sanskrit learning. In fact, many [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] physicians (such as [[Itty Achudan]]) were from the lower-caste [[Ezhava]] community and [[Muslim]] community (such as the father of renowned [[Mappila Paattu]] poet [[Moyinkutty Vaidyar]]). [[Vaidyaratnam P. S. Warrier]] was a prominent Ayurvedic physician. This level of learning by lower-caste people was not seen in other parts of India. Also, Kerala had been the site of the notable [[Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics|Kerala School]] which pioneered principles of mathematics and logic, and cemented Kerala's status as a place of learning. {{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

The prevalence of education was not only restricted to males. In pre-colonial Kerala, women, especially those belonging to the [[matrilineal]] [[Nair]] caste, received an education in Sanskrit and other sciences, as well as [[Kalaripayattu]], a martial art. This was unique to Kerala, but was facilitated by the inherent equality shown by Kerala society to females and males,{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} since Kerala society was largely matrilineal, as opposed to the rigid patriarchy in other parts of India which led to a loss of women's rights.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

The rulers of the princely state of [[Travancore]] also were at the forefront in the spread of education. A school for girls was established by the Maharaja in 1859, which was an act unprecedented in the Indian subcontinent. In colonial times, Kerala exhibited little defiance against the [[British Raj]]. However, they had mass protests for [[social mores|social causes]] such as rights for "[[untouchability|untouchables]]" and education for all. Popular protest to hold public officials accountable is a vital part of life in Kerala.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0517/p12s01-legn.html|title=How almost everyone in Kerala learned to read|website=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|year=2005}}</ref>

The following table shows the literacy rate of Kerala from 1951 to 2011, measured every decade:<ref name=":10">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/education/status.htm 
 |title=Education 
 |publisher=Kerala Government 
 |access-date=17 July 2010 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726215318/http://www.kerala.gov.in/education/status.htm 
 |archive-date=26 July 2010 
}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
!Literacy
!Male
!Female
!Transgender/ Non-binary
|-
|1951
|47.18
|58.35
|36.43
|
|-
|1961
|55.08
|64.89
|45.56
|
|-
|1971
|69.75
|77.13
|62.53
|
|-
|1981
|78.85
|84.56
|73.36
|
|-
|1991
|89.81
|93.62
|86.17
|
|-
|2001
|90.92
|94.20
|87.86
|
|-
|-
|2011
|94.59
|97.10
|92.12
|84.61<ref>{{Cite web |title=TransGender/Others - Census 2011 India |url=https://www.census2011.co.in/transgender.php |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=www.census2011.co.in}}</ref>
|-
|}
The [[Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority]] (KSLMA) had set up "continuing education programmes for [[transgender]]s" (''Samanwaya'')  to educate transgender people in Kerala who are ostracised by their family and society and "forced to go out of homes as they are harassed in schools, colleges and in society".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Continuing Education programme for Transgenders |url=https://literacymissionkerala.org/en/services/continuing-education-programme-for-transgenders/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=18 transgenders clear higher secondary course via Kerala's Samanwaya programme |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2020/10/22/kerala-transgender-community-flying-colours.html |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=OnManorama}}</ref> The Social Justice Department of Kerala has various welfare programmes for transgender people like ''Yatnam''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Social Justice, Kerala |url=http://sjd.kerala.gov.in/scheme-info.php?scheme_id=MTgxc1Y4dXFSI3Z5 |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=sjd.kerala.gov.in}}</ref> which provides financial assistance for transgender students preparing for competitive exams, ''Varnam'' for distance education programmes, there are also other financial assistant programmes for hostel facility<ref>{{Cite web |title=Social Justice, Kerala |url=http://sjd.kerala.gov.in/scheme-info.php?scheme_id=IDE0OHNWOHVxUiN2eQ== |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=sjd.kerala.gov.in}}</ref> etc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Social Justice, Kerala |url=http://sjd.kerala.gov.in/scheme-info.php?scheme_id=IDE3MXNWOHVxUiN2eQ== |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=sjd.kerala.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Social Justice, Kerala |url=http://sjd.kerala.gov.in/beneficiary-info.php?benef_sl=N3NWOHVxUiN2eQ== |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=sjd.kerala.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Social Justice, Kerala |url=http://sjd.kerala.gov.in/scheme-info.php?scheme_id=IDEzNnNWOHVxUiN2eQ== |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=sjd.kerala.gov.in}}</ref> Although these policies help some of the transgender people positively they still face disproportionate amount of discrimination in their daily life which makes it harder for these policies to have a meaningful impact on the transgender community.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kerala govt failed in implementing transgender policy: Amicus curiae report |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kerala-govt-failed-in-implementing-transgender-policy-amicus-curiae-report-1884222-2021-12-04 |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ajith |first=Aishwarya |date=2022-10-09 |title=Slow But Steady: how Kerala's Transgender Policy has helped the Trans Community |url=https://publicpolicyindia.com/2022/10/10/slow-but-steady-how-keralas-transgender-policy-has-helped-the-trans-community/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Public Policy India |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=R |first=Dr Poornima |date=2022 |title=Through the Cracks of the Gendered World: A Critical Analysis of Kerala's Transgender Policy |url=https://journalspoliticalscience.com/index.php/i/article/view/175 |journal=Journal of Polity and Society |language=en |volume=14 |issue=2 |issn=0976-0210}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-06-13 |title=Seven months in, Kerala's transgender policy still thicker on paper than in reality |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/seven-months-keralas-transgender-policy-still-thicker-paper-reality-44773 |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=The News Minute |language=en}}</ref>