\'Parallel\' college pioneer Nair sees opportunity in micro dairies

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: College kids and cattle are as different as chalk and cheese, but the pioneer of �parallel college education in Kerala,

Achuthan Nair, is proving that he can help make cheese as well as he could handle chalk.

For many decades when the licensing system put a constraint on the availability of regular college seats, Achuthan Nair and his friend Balakrishnan Nair pioneered the �parallel college education in Kerala. That experiment shook the higher education model in the state, enabling thousands to graduate through the duos �Our College�, which at one time had over 10,000 students spread across its different campuses in the state.

Achuthan Nair�s family continues to have an interest in the education sector, with his son AL Pradeep taking over as managing director of Our College which now runs two regular colleges, but Nair sees a new prospect in micro-dairy farming.