As the first convention of the Syro-Malabar Catholics is being held in the United States for the first time in the history of this diaspora community, it is very appropriate for us to highlight the different contributions the Syro-Malabar Catholics made to the socio-economic and educational development of Kerala.It does not require much effort to become aware of the pioneering efforts made by the Catholics of this rite in the fields of agriculture, banking, health care and education.
Among all these areas, it is in the field of education that a massive investment was made by the Church. The magnitude of this contribution can only be understood when we realize the limited resources of this community. In capital, personnel as well as in the exercise of influence on the future generations, the role of the Church in the field of education is very significant.
The success of the total literacy campaign in the State was possible because of this immense contribution of the Church in the field of education. The Church saw to it that wherever churches were established , there would also be the establishment of schools. In far –flung villages of Kuttanad as well as in the remote villages of the High Ranges schools began to be established. Blessed Chavara Kuriakose was also responsible in prompting the leaders of the Church to establish schools wherever churches were founded.
The leading role played by the Church became a catalytic force, drawing other agencies and communities in the field of education, there by accelerating the spread of education in the State of Kerala on a much vaster and faster scale than in any other part of India.
It was Prof.Galbraith who pointed out in one of his talks in India that the progress of the Western countries was due to the spread of education. In a true sense, it can also be said that the socio-economic development of Kerala was due to this significant contribution made by the church in the field of education. The Syro-Malabar dioceses and religious congregations run more than 60 colleges as well as more than three thousand schools.
The Church’s effort in the field of education is in consequence of its obedience to the command of Jesus to spread the Good News.The Catholic Church as well as the other denominations were hence,right from the beginning, interested in forming the minds of the youth in order to make them better recipients of the Good News. The Syro-Malabar church followed the same tradition and forged ahead in establishing education institutions. It is the greatest contribution that the church has made to the youth of the country , irrespective of their religious affiliations. It was the schools of the Church that gave the young of the scheduled castes an opportunity to study when they were denied admission in the public schools.
It was the education freely accessible through the wide net-work of schools and colleges run by the Church that offered the young opportunities of employment. Later, when graduate courses were started in the Colleges, more opportunities of employment were opened to the young.
Another aspect of this contribution was the vast impetus given to the education of women.The starting of separate schools for girls and colleges for women offered them a chance to play a grater role in the social and economic development of the State.
But it was not all smooth sailing for the Church in the field of education.The leaders as well as the laity of the Church had to put up very valiant fight at different times to protect their educational rights.There was the attempt of Sir C.P. Rama Swamy Aiyar, the former Dewan of Travancore to curtail the educational rights of the Church. It was Bishop James Kalacherry of Changanacherry who came to the forefront to challenge the Dewan and force him to retrace his steps. Later, the first Communist government of Kerala came with a Bill to curtail the rights again and it was powerfully opposed by the Church which led to the Vimochana Samaram and to the downfall of the government.
If it were not for the blood and toil shed by the thousands of the members of the community, the educational rights of the Church would have been curtailed long time ago and the impetus to start schools would have disappeared .This would have produced catastrophic results in the employment opportunities as well as in the character formation of the young.
There are now voices raised against the starting of more colleges and schools as the population growth has reached almost a nil point in Kerala. Also, the expenses incurred in starting educational institutions have become too great a burden for small communities to bear on account of the cost of the land and enormous expenses involved in construction.But there is no denying the fact that it is the vast output made in the field of education that has accelerated the socio-economic development of Kerala.Educational awareness has created along with this a greater interest in health care. The large network of hospitals established by the Church is in fact responsible for the over-all reduction in the infant mortality rate and the increase in the longevity of the population.
There is a downside to this spurt of educational growth in Kerala.Agencies who have come into the field of education following the leadership given by the church have resorted to unethical means in the matter of appointments and admissions to courses. As the opportunities of employment are scarce , there is a mad rush on the part of the youth for the few jobs available by resorting to any means. This need has been exploited by some agencies and has brought a bad name to many of good educational agencies working in this field. A few of the Christian agencies have too succumbed to this greed.But the vast majority of our schools and colleges remain uncorrupted by this stain of commercialism.
It has to be noted that a lot more financial input is required to upgrade the existing facilities in our schools and colleges.Modernization of the educational facilities by introducing computers is also an urgent need. When some other states closer to Kerala are exploding with technical institutions which offer new job-oriented courses, the Govt. of Kerala is putting as many obstacles as possible to obstruct the private institutions from starting new courses. The Community has to turn its effort in the direction of offering more job-oriented courses.
The community here can help the educational effort of the Church in Kerala by offering its help in starting job-oriented courses and also by creating a great endowment to support the financial requirements of needy students.
In conclusion, it can be justifiably claimed that the Syro-Malabar Church has given a very significant contribution through its massive investment in the field of education to the socio-economic development of Kerala. It has thus paved for the way for Kerala to be compared with the developed countries of the West in the matter of health care, infant mortality, and longevity of life.
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