VAKKOM MOULAVI
FOUNDATION TRUST

Centre for Society, Culture &
Development

150th BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

Vakkom Moulavi (1873 – 1932)

Recent Events
  • On September 28, 2024, VMFT hosted a significant public meeting in Trivandrum, Kerala, to unveil an
    important report on education inequality in the state. The report, titled “Separate and Unequal?
    Language, Curriculum and Management in Kerala’s School Education System
    ,” presents a
    comprehensive analysis of the growing divide within the state’s education system, drawing on multiple
    data sources. Dr. Heidi Layne, a researcher from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, released the
    report and delivered a keynote address, sharing insights on Finland’s focus on education quality and
    teacher professionalisation. The VMFT report also carries a section on Finland’s acclaimed education
    model.

    The report’s findings paint a stark picture of Kerala’s education landscape. Once celebrated for its
    common curriculum and publicly funded school system that guaranteed universal enrollment, Kerala’s
    school system has undergone rapid transformation in just over a generation. Private unaided schools,
    offering different curricula, including the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), have proliferated across the state, while the majority of government and aided schools still follow the State Board curriculum. This shift has created a multi-tiered system where quality education is differentiated by type of school, curriculum and language of instruction and access to this depends on the socio-economic status of students.

    (more…)
  • “Language acquisition is not a step-by-step process of generalization, association, and abstraction, going from linguistic data to the grammar, and that the subtlety of our understanding transcends by far what is presented in experience.”- ― Noam Chomsky, On Language

    Although revered and rebuked in equal measure, Chomsky’s theories cannot be ignored. Setting the
    base to our talk, we were pleased to have with us Dr. George. C. Vilanilam, Professor of Neurosurgery,
    Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum. Dr. Vilanilam has an MS
    in general surgery, and a FRCS in Neurosurgery. He has an MBA in hospital management and Diploma in
    Medical Law and Ethics. He is also associated with the Madhavan Nayar Center for Comprehensive
    Epilepsy Care.
    The talk that happened at VMFT, K.M. Bashir Memorial Building, Thiruvananthapuram, on 24th August,
    was divided into 3 parts; a presentation on language and brain development by Dr. Vilanilam, followed
    by a presentation on education models by Dr. Bashir, and a riveting Q&A session. Dr. Vilanilam delved
    into the science behind language absorption and how the brain aids this process. He further states that
    the perspective to language is varying and has many facets. His talk focused on the neurobiology and
    medical professional’s perspective of language. As per Dr. Vilanilam’s research, there are 7164 languages worldwide, with Papau New Guinea having 840 languages and India being 4 th  in place with 453 languages and dialects.

    (more…)
  • On 27th July, 2024, we were pleased to hold a session, remotely, with Dr. Xiaoyan Liang, Lead Education Specialist, World Bank. Dr. Liang is an international education professional with experience across many continents and author of the influential “How Shanghai Does It” report.  This was the first in a series of talks which will be organized by VMFT over the next few months on improving school education quality and to bring insights from other countries that are relevant for Kerala and India.

    The offline session that was held at the VMFT hall, Trivandrum, saw a huge turnout of teachers, mentors
    and students. Simultaneously, there were attendees who joined online from around the country as well.
    The session was organised to turn the spotlight on the Teacher Research Group system in China that has been adapted to Tanzania and other countries. Due to the high performance of Chinese students on
    international student assessments, there is considerable interest in this system.

    Teacher Research Group (TRG) system is a collaborative framework designed to foster professional
    development among educators through inquiry-based learning and reflective practice. It involves a
    group of teachers coming together regularly to explore specific educational questions, challenges, or
    innovations within their classrooms or schools. A typical TRG activity involves study and preparation of
    lesson plans, classroom observation, and collective reflection. TRG creates a learning community, where
    teachers can develop their subject or discipline knowledge and improve pedagogical skills.

    The primary goal is to improve teaching practices and student learning outcomes. The group focuses ona specific research question or theme, which could relate to curriculum development, teaching strategies, classroom management, or student engagement.

    (more…)
Announcements
Recent Events
  • On September 28, 2024, VMFT hosted a significant public meeting in Trivandrum, Kerala, to unveil animportant report on education inequality in the state. The report, titled “Separate and Unequal?Language, Curriculum and Management in Kerala’s School Education System,” presents acomprehensive analysis of the growing divide within the state’s education system, drawing on multipledata sources. Dr. Heidi Layne, a researcher from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, released thereport and delivered a keynote address, sharing insights on Finland’s focus on education quality andteacher professionalisation. The VMFT report also carries a section on Finland’s acclaimed educationmodel. The report’s findings paint a stark picture...
    Read More
  • “Language acquisition is not a step-by-step process of generalization, association, and abstraction, going from linguistic data to the grammar, and that the subtlety of our understanding transcends by far what is presented in experience.”- ― Noam Chomsky, On Language Although revered and rebuked in equal measure, Chomsky’s theories cannot be ignored. Setting thebase to our talk, we were pleased to have with us Dr. George. C. Vilanilam, Professor of Neurosurgery,Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum. Dr. Vilanilam has an MSin general surgery, and a FRCS in Neurosurgery. He has an MBA in hospital management and Diploma...
    Read More
  • On 27th July, 2024, we were pleased to hold a session, remotely, with Dr. Xiaoyan Liang, Lead Education Specialist, World Bank. Dr. Liang is an international education professional with experience across many continents and author of the influential “How Shanghai Does It” report.  This was the first in a series of talks which will be organized by VMFT over the next few months on improving school education quality and to bring insights from other countries that are relevant for Kerala and India. The offline session that was held at the VMFT hall, Trivandrum, saw a huge turnout of teachers, mentorsand students. Simultaneously,...
    Read More

2023: Meetings across the world on the contributions of Vakkom Moulavi

On the occasion of the 150 th birth anniversary

VMFT organized many celebrations of the life and work of Vakkom Moulavi (1873-1932), a towering figure of the Kerala renaissance of the early 20th century, who contributed to the making of modern Kerala. Throughout 2023, with international seminars, public meetings, workshops, competitions, and programs for all ages and social groups, we highlighted the contributions of Vakkom Moulavi, as a journalist, public intellectual, educationist and ardent social reformer. It was the occasion to remember his tireless fight for the rights of people, for Muslim educational and social reform, including the promotion of modern education amongst Muslim women.

Explore the historical newspaper, The Svadesabhimani

The Svadesabhimani was the first newspaper started by Vakkom Moulavi in 1905, who was its owner, publisher and managing editor. The newspaper was a trailblazer in independent and fearless Malayalam journalism. It was suppressed by the Travancore government in 1910, the editor Ramakrishna Pillai was exiled and the press was confiscated.

For the first time, this celebrated newspaper is available to the wider public through the digitization of the available Malayalam issues of the paper. The articles are also being translated into English. Read about its analysis of governance and legislative reforms, education policy, social reforms, media, the national movement and international developments.

Education Research Seminar Series

Shaping A Future with Social Justice: Perspectives for School Education in Kerala

Our school education system needs new curricula, teaching methods and assessment methods to prepare young people for the future. High quality education research is required to support this transformation.

The seminar series will focus on education research in three areas:

  1. Climate resilience and environmental sustainability (held on Dec 6-7, 2023)
  2. Language, culture and identity (forthcoming)
  3. Future of work and the future of education (forthcoming)

Jointly organized by VMFT, CDS and TISS

 

  • Developing a research agenda for education: Language, culture and identity
  • To be decided
  • Venue to be decided
  • Fore more information, contact
    vmft.tvpm@gmail.com

PROGRAM SCHEDULE: TO BE ANNOUNCED

Training Programmes

On August 20, 2024, VMFT in collaboration with “Perumathura Snehatheeram Penma” organized a
transformative digital literacy workshop in Madanvila, a coastal village in the Trivandrum district. Held at
the S.I.U.P. Hall, the one-day event aimed to empower the local community with essential digital skills,
marking a significant milestone in VMFT’s broader initiative to foster digital literacy across Kerala.

The workshop was a great success, with a high level of participation especially from women. The
approach of the workshop, focusing on practical learning, community-centred strategy and interactive
sessions resulted in an overwhelmingly positive feedback and concrete suggestions for next steps. The
lessons were clear: targeted, hands-on training resonates with villagers; peer-assisted learning boosts
engagement and customized content addresses local needs and spurs interest in advanced topics.

(more…)
Swadeshabhimani Media Studies Centre
Join our workshops, training programs and research study program !

 

The Centre conducts an array of programs to develop the capacity and skills of young people in understanding, using and creating media content of different varieties. It also provides a platform for amplifying the voice of youth to address their needs, interests and perspectives and to put forward solutions to urgent social issues. Named after the trailblazing newspaper The Svadesabhimani, the Centre is dedicated to fostering independent journalism and media.

 

Currently, the Centre organizes workshops on films and cinema, media literacy workshops and research studies on the media. If you are interested in participating or organizing events in your college, school or local community, contact vmft.tvpm@gmail.com

R P Amudhan leads a documentary film workshop
R P Amudhan leads a documentary film workshop