THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what is being read as a policy success, the number of migrant students in schools -- including government, aided and unaided -- in the state increased by 3,226 over one year. According to data with the Directorate of General Education, the total number went up from 21,299 in 2023-24 to 24,525 in 2024-25.

While government schools saw their number of interstate pupils jump from 8,490 to 10,018 over the period, it went up from 12,421 to 13,619 in aided schools and 388 to 888 in unaided schools.

At 6,506, Ernakulam accounted for the most number of new enrolments in 2024-25.

This was up 853 from the previous year. In terms of total numbers, Thiruvananthapuram came in second, though enrolment in the capital district dropped from 1,657 in 2023-24 to 1,559 in 2024-25.

“The increase suggests that our policies are yielding results, though it calls for a thorough study,” said Jayaprakash R K, director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT). He added that Kerala is the only state that has attempted to address the issue of migrant children’s education in the country .

Echoing the statement, another department official said that there has been an spike in migrant labourers moving their families to Kerala in recent years, which reflects in the increased number of interstate students in schools.

“Our move to empower migrant children through education, as part of initiatives such as ‘Roshni’, has had an impact,” she said. Ernakulam leading the way suggests that the district has more labour opportunities favourable for family migration, the official added.

Benoy Peter, executive director of the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), said that though the numbers appear to be increasing, we have yet to achieve even a satisfactory number. “According to a 2017-18 Planning Board study, there are at least 98,000 migrant children in Kerala. But the current figure of total enrolled students is not even a quarter of the total,” he said.

Even though children’s education is a key factor in family migration, it is important to ensure that more of them attain education, he added.

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