Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Minister for Higher Education R bindu said that the education sector here is progressing well. Going abroad for higher studies is not a crime. Even the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi studied abroad, she said in the Legislative Assembly.

“Studying abroad is not a crime. It is not a new tendency either. Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi studied abroad. Nehru, Ambedkar, Indira Gandhi and V.K Krishna Menon, studied in London. Panakkad Sayyid Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal studied in Cairo university.  Kerala’s excellence in the field of higher education is what aids the migration of students. Let them when better prospects open up. The government is providing special assistance to students belonging to marginalised communities for taking up studies in foreign universities,” the Minister said in the House.

The opposition raised the findings of NORKA’s migration survey in the Assembly today. The Minister of education replied that Kerala has comparatively less student migration when compared to other states. As she was speaking, the speaker intervened and asked her to stop. But the Minister continued by remarking that some things had to be said.

MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan from the opposition’s side said that the young generation believes that they should escape from Kerala. The MLA said that if the young leave the state in this manner, Kerala will soon turn into an old age home.

Leader of the Opposition in Kerala, V.D Satheesan opined that the entire state has turned into a foreign recruitment agency. The opposition left the House when the permission to discuss the emergency resolution was denied.