Kottayam is the first town in India to achieve cent percent literacy. According to the 1991 census, the literacy percentage of the district is 90.52. The district has been maintaining its lead till the state achieved total literacy, subsequently.

There are also twenty-one Arts and Science colleges, four Training Colleges, three Co-operative Colleges, Two Polytechnics, Seven Teachers Training Institutes, two industrial Training Institutes and a number of private parallel colleges. Out of the five medical colleges in the state, one is at Kottayam.

In the 17th century, a Dutch school was started at Kottayam, which however proved to be short-lived. The first English school in Kerala was started by the missionaries of Church Mission Society (CMS), at Kottayam, in the beginning of 19th century. To this humble beginning, can be traced, the pre-eminence of Kerala in Education.

The Mahatma Gandhi University is at Kottayam. Rajiv Gandhi Technological Institute was started at Puthupally in 1991. Lal Bahadur Sashtri Science and technology sub centre and the south Indian branch of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication have also been started at Puthupally and Vadavathoor respectively. The Nair Service Society, founded in 1914, which run several educational institutions in the state, has its head quarters in Changanassery.

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