Kasaragodupdates

The future of thousands of higher education aspirants in Kerala hangs in the balance as Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar continues to withhold assent to the historic Kerala State Private Universities Bill. By referring the unanimously passed legislation to the President of India, the Governor has effectively frozen a crucial educational reform, triggering widespread outrage among students, parents, and academic experts who accuse the Raj Bhavan of actively ruining the academic prospects of the state's youth.

A Historic Reform Blocked

Passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly on March 25, 2025, the landmark bill was designed to modernise the state's higher education sector. For decades, Kerala has witnessed a massive "brain drain," with thousands of students migrating to neighboring states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, or moving abroad, to pursue cutting-edge courses in private universities.

The 2025 Bill aimed to reverse this trend by allowing top-tier private institutions to set up campuses within Kerala. This move promised to:

* Stop Student Migration: Keep local talent and financial resources within the state.
* Modernise Curriculum: Introduce industry-aligned, flexible courses that state-run universities often fail to provide quickly.
* Create Opportunities: Offer world-class education locally for students who cannot afford the steep cost of living outside Kerala.

By refusing to sign the bill and pushing it into a prolonged federal bureaucratic loop, the Governor has single-handedly halted this progress.

Students Pay the Price

The real casualties of this political standoff are the students. Academic sessions are passing by, and the delay means another generation of school-leavers is forced to look outside Kerala for competitive higher education.

"We expected to enroll in advanced tech programs right here in Kochi by 2026," says Anjali Menon, a higher secondary graduate. "Because of the Governor’s delay, I now have to spend double the amount to study in Bengaluru. The Raj Bhavan is playing with our careers."

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The Kerala government has become the first state to create a portfolio exclusively dedicated to artificial intelligence, to be managed by senior IUML leader P.K. Kunhalikutty.

The Kerala government on Wednesday released the official gazette notification detailing the allocation of portfolios among the 20 ministers in the Congress-led United Democratic Front government. The AI portfolio has been allocated to Kunhalikutty, who is also in charge of industries, IT and start-ups. Kunhalikutty had held the IT portfolio since 2001 in the A.K. Antony and Oommen Chandy-led governments.

Joseph C. Mathew, a leading IT consultant in Kerala, told that he was not aware whether the government had actually decided to set up a separate department for AI.

“Chief minister V.D. Satheesan had announced only a new department for the elderly welfare. Clarity has to emerge on whether the existing IT department has been renamed. If a department name has to be changed, there are various administrative overheads to be addressed. That means Kerala is thinking seriously about AI,” Mathew, who was the IT adviser to former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan, said.

A source in the IT ministry told this newspaper that the allocation of the dedicated portfolio on AI was at its nascent stage. It’s learned that industry experts in the AI sector were yet to be included in Kunhalikutty’s office, which would take a few more days to settle in.

The Kerala government came out with the gazette notification on Wednesday, making it the first state to allocate a dedicated portfolio for AI. The Tamil Nadu government folowed suit on Thursday by allocating the AI portfolio to TVK MLA R. Kumar.