The University of Kerala's

administrative building in
Thiruvananthapuram.
Hardware training for students given
by "IT@SCHOOL" project
Kerala is the cleanest and healthiest state in India.
[313]
However, Kerala's morbidity rate is higher than that of any other Indian state118 (rural) and 88
(urban) per 1,000 people. The corresponding figures for all India were 55 and 54 per 1,000 respectively as of 2004.
[309]:5
Kerala's 13.3% prevalence
of low birth weight is higher than that of First World nations.
[307]
Outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis, and typhoid
among the more than 50% of people who rely on 3 million water wells is an issue worsened by the lack of sewers.
[314]:57
In respect of women
empowerment, some negative factors such as higher suicide rate, lower share of earned income, complaints of sexual harassment and limited freedom are
reported.
[310]
Education
The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries. In
attempting to solve astronomical problems, the Kerala school independently created a number of important
mathematics concepts including resultsseries expansion for trigonometric functions.
[315][316]
Following the
instructions of the Wood's despatch of 1854, both the princely states, Travancore and Cochin, launched mass
education drives with the support from different agencies mainly based on castes and communities and
introduced a system of grant-in-aid to attract more private initiatives.
[317]
The efforts by leaders, Vaikunda
Swami, Narayana Guru and Ayyankali, towards the socially discriminated castes in the state, with the help of
community-based organisations like Nair Service Society, SNDP, Muslim Mahajana Sabha, Yoga Kshema
Sabha (of Nambudiris) and different congregations of Christian churches, led to developement in the mass
education of Kerala.
[317]
In 1991, Kerala became the first state in India to be recognised as a completely literate state, though the
effective literacy rate at that time was only 90%. As of 2007, the net enrollment in elementary education was
almost 100 per cent and was almost balanced among different sexes, social groups and regions, unlike other
states of India.
[318]
The state topped the Education Development Index (EDI) among 21 major states in India
in the year 20062007.
[319]
According to the first Economic Census, conducted in 1977, 99.7% of the
villages in Kerala had a primary school within 2 km, 98.6% had a middle school within 2 km and 96.7% had a
high school or higher secondary school within 5 km.
[320]
According to 2013 estimation, Kerala ranks first in literacy rate with 98.9%,highest in the country. The
educational system prevailing in the state schooling is for 10 years, which are streamlined into lower primary,
upper primary and secondary school stages with a 4+3+3 pattern.
[318]
After 10 years of secondary schooling,
students typically enroll in Higher Secondary Schooling in one of the three major streamsliberal arts,