From The Hindu, March 10, 1975: Some schools in Kerala not getting enough students

New Delhi, March 9: Primary schools in a few pockets in Kerala are faced with a unique problem — there are fewer children for enrolment.

This phenomenon in a State with a high literacy rate was attributed by family planning authorities to a fall in the number of fresh births. The Family Planning programme in the State got started in 1955.

Officials, however, could not provide a party of visiting newsmen with up-to-date statistics of this situation. But it was stated such a situation existed in areas around Ernakulam where mass sterilisation camps were an overwhelming success.

Census figures revealed a slight reduction in the proportion of those belonging to the 6-14 age group in the State. It dropped from 42.63% in 1961 to 40.25% in 1971.

Despite the decline in birth rate (now standing at 31 per 1,000 population), improvement in general mortality has contributed to keeping Kerala the most densely populated State. Consequently, the growth rate and the structure of the population have not been favourably altered.

Family planning achievements in Kerala were due in a large measure to the status of women who, outnumbering the male population since 1901, enjoyed a literacy rate of 54.22% as compared to the all-India figure of 18.7% for females. Another healthy trend was that at marriage, the age of Kerala women over the years has crossed 20. This would help reduce the fertility rates of women in the 15-19 age group.