Kerala's achievements in social development and quality of life are, no doubt, inspiring and encouraging. The state has achieved a human development index comparable to the developed countries of the World. Prof. Amartya Sen has attributed these achievements largely to the priority which the state has accorded to high literacy among all Indian states and education for a long time. The society attaches so much importance to education that the school in Kerala is really the nucleus of the social microcosm. Better education kindles the aspirations of the people and the main concern is on how to improve the quality of education. www.education.kerala.gov.in is the official website of the General Education Department of Government of Kerala. The department administers school education from pre-primary level to the secondary level and also teacher training. A total of 1,73,807 teachers working and 48,45,931 students studying from standard of I to X (as per 2004-05 stats).

Organizational Structure of the Department

The General Education Department is one of the important departments in Kerala. The Director of Public Instruction (DPI) is the Head of the Department. The Director is also the Commissioner for Government Examinations in the state. Additional Directors, Joint Directors, Senior Administrative Officer, Senior Finance Officer, Law Officer, Deputy Secretary, Accounts Officers, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors and other staff in the headquarters assist him. The Joint commissioner, the Secretary, The Assistant Secretary and other staff, located in the Pareekshabhavan, assist him in various Government Examinations conducted by the Department.

For administrative convenience and improving the efficiently in school education, district offices are functioning in the 14 revenue districts of the state headed by Deputy Directors of Education. Each revenue district is divided into Educational Districts and further into Educational Sub-Districts There are 37 Educational Districts and 161 Educational sub-districts in the State. Deputy Director of Education (DDE) heads each District Educational Officers and Assistant Educational Officer (AEO) heads each Educational Sub-District Officers. The DEO attends the administration of High Schools, Training Schools and other special types of schools in the Educational District. The AEO is primarily responsible for the administration of all primary schools within the Sub-District.

The Department plays an eminent role in the physical and metal development of all pupils studying in schools. There has been tremendous growth in educational facilities at all levels of education in the state during the last 50 years. The private and public sectors together played significant role in attaining the present level and their contribution to the field are remarkable.