The story of a Kerala govt school with over 85% migrant students

This is the final story in a four-part series where TNM surveys the lived realities of the migrant communities in Kerala.

Walking me to the Edayar Junction bus stop from the Binanipuram Government High School on the afternoon of Monday, June 3, Bihar native Baby Kumari got talking about her dreams for the future. She was among the 14 students, seven of whom were children of migrant workers, who helped the Kerala school secure 100% pass in Class 10 in the 2023-24 academic year. She started the conversation by pointing to a large two-storeyed house opposite the school — “I want to have a house like that.”

“I used to dream of becoming a Collector in my home state of Bihar. But now I want to be a nurse and move abroad for work,” she said. Her friend Gulabshah Khatoon, who is also from Bihar, is not big on planning like Baby. “I will study Commerce in Plus Two. I haven’t decided what I will do after that,” she said.

Baby and Gulabshah are at that age where dreams for the future change and evolve. But they say that for girl cousins their age in their native villages, the future is often limited to marriage and household work. For them, the schooling they received in Kerala has made all the difference.