About Lakshdweep Administration, Directorate of Education, Kavaratti :
Education in the islands in earlier periods was confined to the teaching of Quran in schools attached to the mosques. In these schools called Madrassas, the Malayalam language was also taught in Arabic scripts. Only few could read and write and neither their isolated position nor any of their avocations made much call for education.
In the earlier years of British administration, the people were considered to be too backward to realize the value of modern education and no serious attempts were made to start schools in the islands till the latter half of the 19th century.
The islands have been by leaps and bounds since independence. In 1951 the literacy percentage was 15.23 and now it is 87.52 % occupying the third position in the country. Up to 1956 there was only one graduate. Now there are about 5200 matriculates, more than 350 graduates, 70 postgraduates, 120 Engineers, 95 doctors and scores of students studying in other disciplines.
Now all children of school going age have access to schools and out of the total student population 47% are girls.