Three-time MLA from Puthukkad Prof C. Raveendranath ensured that several of the government and aided schools in his constituency transformed themselves into hi-tech schools. He can now look forward to taking the project to all schools in the state as he is slated to take up the education portfolio.
A retired chemistry professor of St Thomas College, Thrissur, Prof Raveendranath will be following in the footsteps of Prof Joseph Mundasserry, the first education minister of the state. Prof Mundasserry was also a teacher at St Thomas College.
Prof. Raveendranath was active in Kerala Shastra Sahithya Parishad and AKPCTA during his academic life. He had also worked as the resource person of Total Literacy Programme, consultant to the State Planning Board, district convenor of People’s Planning programme.
He is known for airing his concerns about the state’s financial position, and has has been consistently demanding that the government renergise its tax collection mechanism and go in for sustainable model of development. The soft-spoken Prof Raveendranaath has authored several books, too.
He is known for designing projects that are practical and would pool funds from all possible sources. Officials remember him tapping MLA-MP funds and three-tier panchayats for implementing projects in agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and in dairying.
Some of the projects include ‘Nivedya Kadali’ of providing bananas to Guruvayur temple, supplying organic vegetables to Oushadhi, a state government entity producing Ayurvedic medicines, Ntural Fresh Milk Scheme for supply in Thrissur town. He also got as many as 150 classrooms in 79 schools converted into high-tech classrooms. Now, the people may wait for the pragmatic leader to take his schemes across the state.
