Impact of Decentralised Planning and Transfer of Development Functions on the Performance of Lower Primary Schools in Kerala:A Case Study of Two Village Panchayats

Decentralised planning in Kerala has already received worldwide attention because of the successful devolution of powers and functions from the state to local self-governments. The devolution revolution was aimed at realising drastic changes in the all round development of the state. How the isolated local level problems could be resolved by the local people and local self-governments was a great challenge before the protagonists of decentralised planning. The present study attempts to evaluate the impact of decentralised planning and transfer of development functions on the performance of lower primary schools in Kerala. The study is based on the primary data collected from the lower primary schools of two village panchayats in Kerala, viz., Aloor and Nattika, which belong to Thrissur Distict 'the cultural capital of Kerala'. The study found that devolution of powers to local bodies as part of the decentralised planning could make a salutary impact on aided government lower primary schools, which were facing a threat of closure due to declining enrolment.