Kerala was formed on 1 November 1956 (State day also 1st November) as per the States Reorganization Act by combining various Malayalam-speaking regions. Kerala produces 97% of the national output of black pepper and accounts for 85% of the area under natural rubber in the country. Malayalam, one of the classical languages in India, is Kerala's official language. Onam (state festival) is a harvest festival celebrated by the people of Kerala. The elephant is the state animal of Kerala, home to the largest domesticated population of elephant in India and is also featured on the emblem of the Government of Kerala. Asia's largest and World's third largest Naval Academy-Ezhimala Naval Academy-at Kannur is in Kerala. Idukki arch dam-World's second and Asia's first arch dam is in Kerala. Kochi (Cochin) the major port of Kerala is known as the ‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’.
Education Status
According to the Census 2011, Kerala has a literacy rate of 93.91% (male literacy rate 96.02% and female literacy rate 91.98%).
In 1991, Kerala become the first fully literate state of India. 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. After 10 years of secondary schooling, students typically enroll in Higher Secondary Schooling in one of the three major streams—liberal arts, commerce or science, upon completing the required coursework, students can enroll in general or professional under-graduate (UG) programmes. The majority of the public schools are affiliated with the Kerala State Education Board. Other familiar educational boards are the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), and the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). English is the language of instruction in most self-financing schools, while government and government-aided schools offer English or Malayalam. There are many top standard Government aided and unaided (private) colleges and other academic institutions, computer-training institutes, industrial training institutes, polytechnic institutes and other technical training institutes.