Even Gandhi studied abroad, says minister; don’t speak annoyingly, replies LoP as war of words breaks out in Assembly

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A war of words broke out between the ruling party and the opposition following a demand for an adjournment motion to discuss the migration of students to foreign universities. Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan said that the minister should not speak annoyingly on the most serious issue.

VD Satheesan said that the money of the state is going out and the children are going abroad after mortgaging their houses. To this, Minister R Bindu replied there is no need to stop students from going abroad. Ruling party MLA Sreenijan also demanded that students should be encouraged to study abroad. After that, permission was denied to the opposition’s adjournment motion.R Bindu said that the leader of the opposition spoke with arrogance and raised objection to Satheesan pointing fingers. Minister MB Rajesh also accused the opposition leader of being arrogant. The speaker told the ruling party that they could also rectify it. Mathew Kuzhalnadan said that the number of students who went abroad has doubled and that this matter should be discussed. But Minister Bindu said that this is a global phenomenon.The Minister said that Kerala has the least amount of student migration at only four per cent of the total migration in the country. “Employment is the main attraction along with education. There is no decline in state universities. The reputation of the university is increasing internationally. It is not a crime for students to migrate to foreign countries and even Mahatma Gandhi studied abroad,” the minister said.Opposition’s walkout speechMigrating to foreign countries has become a big trend now. Even the billboards on both sides of the road show ads for recruiting agencies. Is there a trend in Kerala like when Jawaharlal Nehru studied in Oxford and Cambridge? How lightly the higher education minister handled the social issue.In the past, when migration to the Middle East took place, no one expressed concern. That is because people went there to work. Income from there will come to our country. Those who come back after a while will at least start a bakery. Migration to Gulf countries was the backbone of our economy. But is the current trend to be seen that way?If you listen to what the minister is saying, it seems that the opposition in Kerala is against children going abroad to study. Let them go and study in good educational institutions if they get a chance. We are not against that. But ask yourself if this is what we see now. They take Rs 45 lakhs (as a loan) by mortgaging their house without even knowing which institutions they are going to.Many of these children go to lower quality institutions than the lowest quality institutions in our country. Some parents ask Malayali associations for recommendations after their children fail to get a job. Rs 34 to 45 lakhs is lost from all households. In this way, Rs 2000-3000 crore are lost from Kerala. By next year it will be 5000 crores.