New Delhi, June 5 -- For decades, Kerala - one of India's most literate states with a 95.3% literacy rate - took justifiable pride in its educational achievements. Schools reached the remotest corners of the state. Generations of doctors, engineers, nurses and civil servants carried the state's reputation across India and far beyond. Even today, with Gross Enrolment Ratios in universities often exceeding 40 per cent against a national average of around 30 per cent, Kerala remains among the country's leaders in tertiary education.

Yet somewhere along the way, the higher education system began losing the confidence of the very people it was meant to serve.

Warning Signs Have Been Visible

The warning signs are now too visible to dismiss. ...