Education

EDUCATION

Prior to independence the level of education was limited in the village. It was mainly the domain of the Brahmins who sent their wards to the schools in Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai. The well heeled ones even rented out small portions of houses in the towns and set up their families in order that children may be within easy reach of schooling requirements.

Credit must go to Shri N G Neelakanta Iyer for running a Thinnai pallikoodam in the front of his house in the agraharam which is known as Perumal Sannadhi Street. He was reported to be a teacher in Thiruvananthapuram but migrated to his native village in the early 30s. In the mid-thirties, Shri Venkatabanu Iyer of Thiruvannathapuram started an aided school up to the higher elementary school supported by the District Board. This school gained popularity as there were no schools in the neibhourhood. Around the year 1940, there were more than 150 pupils including those from Rajavallipuram, Palamadai, Thiruvannathapuram and Keezhanatham (the last two were on the other side of the river). Rent free accommodation was extended to him by the village in the Bajanai Madam at the Eastern end of the agraharam.

The burden of running an institution with a larger attendance but without adequate funds frustrated the headmaster Venkatabanu Iyer. Some kind of misunderstanding arose between him and the villagers and he was forced to quit.

The village elders had in the meantime opened a parallel school in two houses (Venkateswara Vidyalaya) and ran it for one year. Here again, lack of funds and infrastructure impeded their cause. So, they invited the Brothers of Sacred Heart of Jesus at Palayamkottai to run the school on their own terms. Thus was born the St.Joseph’s Higher Elementary School in 1943. As masters in the field of education, they have run the school successfully. The school was upgraded into a high school in the year 1998.

Over 400 students are now pursuing their education now.

Apart from this school, other schools in Thalaiyuthu and Tirunelveli also attract students from Naranammalpuram and adjoining villages. The availability of bus transport has, facilitated even the Dalit children to be educated. Even some school vans are seen transporting children.

The mention of “Dalit children” should not be misunderstood. It only denotes the progress of even poor people and their realization of the importance of education.

It is noteworthy that the school has registered a cent-percent pass in the SSLC examination for five years in a row between 2000 and 2007 AD. The school authorities also help the brighter students to gain admission in colleges.

The Naranammalpuram Welfare Society awards Rs. 1,000/. To the student who scores the highest marks in the SSLC examination from the year 2002-03. About 20 poor students are supplied with note-books by the society.

A library opened in 1958 in functioning in the village to the north of Bazaar Street. Built on a land which was once a rice field the building is in a low lying area, right next to an inundation channel. In the early 2000s, the area was flooded due to heavy rains. The level of water rose to such an extent that most of the books were washed away. A representation was sent to the Director of libraries in 2005 to relocate the library to a more comfortable location. It has met with little success.

With such educational facilities, the literacy rate is 75% which is much higher than the national average.

Literates

Males 79%
Females 68%