Thiruvananthapuram : Youngsters attaining the age of 17 migrating to foreign countries has doubled in Kerala shows the latest survey known as Kerala Migration Survey (KMS-2023), an unhealthy trend that can be termed as a ‘Mad rush’ by as being described by S Irudaya Rajan, the chairman of International Institute of Migration and Development who has been instrumental in formulating the KMS document.
Speaking to TV9, Irudaya Rajan termed the phenomenon of excess migration which is vastly seen in Kerala, especially among middle income groups as unhealthy that is stemmed from the wrong perception that going abroad, mainly to Europe and US could help them achieve prosperity in life and moreover his or her ‘Life is settled’.
“The trend has increased in the past five years if you look at the trends in Kerala where you find a large number of youngsters move to countries like UK and Canada looking for green pastures. It is time to introspect as what is wrong with our educational system. The government should take necessary steps to ensure our higher education facilities are maintained with higher standards and hence change the perception among the public”, said Irudaya Rajan to TV9.
KMS Survey details
The KMS survey reveals that from 129,763 student emigrants in 2018, the number has doubled to about 250,000 in 2023. This notable increase in student emigration underscores a significant shift in the demographics of emigrants from Kerala, wherein there has been an increase in the number of emigrants leaving at a very young age, as early as 17 years. The KMS 2023 has revealed that students constitute 11.3 per cent of total emigrants from Kerala, indicating that a growing number of younger individuals are choosing to emigrate, particularly for educational opportunities abroad.
According to the KMS 2023, the number of emigrants from Kerala is estimated to be 2.2 million, closely aligning with the 2.1 million recorded in the KMS 2018. This stability in international migration over the last five years is interesting, given the overall declining trend observed over the past decade in the previous rounds of KMS. Although there is a slight increase of 32,388 emigrants in 2023, 9 out of the 14 districts in Kerala observed a considerable decline in the number of emigrants when compared to 2018, indicating a saturation of international migration.
In 2023, there has been a slight decrease in the number of emigrants per 100 households when compared to the previous years. However, despite this decrease, nearly half of the households surveyed have experienced migration in some form or the other, either through emigration or return emigration. Two out of five households in Kerala were found to have non-resident Keralites, indicating the significant presence of migration experiences within the economy and society. Of the 20,000 households surveyed, 16.2 per cent reported having at least one emigrant, which is a slight decrease from the 17.3 per cent reported in 2018. However, in 2023, the total number of Non-Resident Keralites, including both emigrants and return emigrants, is estimated to be 4 million, marking an increase from the figure of 3.41 million recorded in 2018.
Youngsters attaining the age of 17 migrating to foreign countries has doubled in Kerala shows the latest survey known as Kerala Migration Survey (KMS-2023), an unhealthy trend that can be termed as a ‘Mad rush’ by as being described by S Irudaya Rajan, the chairman of International Institute of Migration and Development who has been instrumental in formulating the KMS document. Kerala States News India: Top News India, States News, States News Headlines, Online State News India, State Politics news
