| Floods are among the most disruptive climate-related hazards, yet their impacts on education remain underexplored compared to economic and infrastructural losses. International studies from Africa and Asia demonstrate that flooding disrupts school calendars, damages infrastructure, forces institutions to serve as evacuation shelters, and exposes students to heightened health risks, with long-term effects on learning outcomes and well-being (Munsaka & Mutasa, 2020; Lassa et al., 2023). In Kerala, the monsoon—once regarded as the ecological lifeline—has become increasingly erratic under the influence of global climate change, producing recurrent floods that severely undermine educational continuity. This study focuses on the flood-prone Kuttanad region, one of India’s few below-sea-level inhabited landscapes, where schools in villages such as Kuttamangalam, Kainakari, Pulinkunnu, and Karuvatta lose weeks of instructional time annually due to inundation. Using a combination of secondary sources, rapid flood impact assessments, and school-level data from 2015–2025, the analysis highlights four recurring patterns: prolonged instructional loss, elevated student absenteeism due to water-borne and vector-borne diseases, significant gaps in academic achievement compared with town schools, and declining participation in extracurricular and motivational activities. Despite these challenges, resilience is evident in community-led adaptations, extended school hours, weekend sessions, and the conversion of cultural spaces into temporary classrooms. The findings reveal that while localised innovations mitigate immediate loss, structural disparities persist, underscoring the need for climate-adapted infrastructure, health safeguards, and flexible pedagogical planning. By situating Kuttanad’s experience within broader international evidence, the study argues for education to be recognised not only as a sector at risk but as a cornerstone of climate resilience. |
