There are at present 266 schools (126 lower primary, 77
upper primary and 53 high schools) in Wayanad district. Five vocational
higher secondary schools, two higher secondary schools and three teacher
training institutes are there under the Department of Education. There are
a residential upper primary school for scheduled castes at Muthanga and a
residential high school at Nallurnad. Out of 1,38,339 students studying in
these schools, 69,944 are boys and 68,395 are girls. There are 7,686
scheduled caste and 22,447-scheduled tribe students.
In Wayanad 2,591 people share a school
against the state average of 2,381 people per school and this district has
one school for every 8.075kms. against the state average of one school per
3.2 kms. The average number of students in this district per school is 532
against the state average of around 481.
Wayanad is a single education district
with one deputy director, one District Educational Officer and three
Assistant Educational Officers. It has also a District Institute of
Education and Training, located at Sulthan bathery.
In order to improve the quality of
education, the district has been brought under the special scheme of
District Primary education Project, funded by the World Bank.
Post School Education
Out of the six colleges in the district,
only one has the status of a first grade college with postgraduate courses
and science subjects. The proposed graduate progremme in Tourism at
Pazhassi Raja College, Pulpally, is the only one of its kind in the state.
The only polytechnic is at Meenangadi.
The Ambalavayal Research Centre is a notable institution under the Kerala
Agricultural University. The B.Ed Centre at Kaniampatta is also a feather
in the cap of the educational sector of this district.
Tribal Education
The education of tribals is still a big
problem. In spite of a lot of efforts, they have not yet been brought the
the main stream. Many are admitted to schools, but they do not remain. The
only consolation is the two schools – Rajiv Gandhi residential School at
Muthanga and Dr. Ambedkar Residential School at Nallurnad, near
Mananthavady- set apart for education of tribal children. Both these have
better facilities and are well run.
Literacy
The
literacy rate in Wayanad is 70.61 percent as per 1991 census and was only
57.33 in 1981. Thus there is an appreciable growth in the literacy rate in
a decade. This is still below the state average of 89.81 percent. Among
the panchayats and municipality, Mullankolli has the highest rate of 77.11
followed by Vythiri, 75.71 percent and Edavaka, 73.7 percent.
