Chennai - Education

Education

Chennai is in second place for literacy among metropolitan city centers in India with a 90.33 percent literacy rate. Chennai has a mix of public and private (some of which also receive financial support from the government) schools. The public school system is managed by the Chennai Corporation with an enrollment of 142,387 students in over 330 schools. Tamil and English are the primary media of instruction, though several schools also use Telegu or Urdu. Public schools run by the Chennai Corporation are all affiliated with the Tamil Nadu State Board, while private schools may be affiliated with either of the Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education or the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). A few schools are affiliated with the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) board or the Montessori system. Education in Chennai starts with two years of Kindergarten from age three onward and then follows the Indian 10+2+3 plan, ten years of school, two years of higher secondary education, and three years of undergraduate education.

English is the medium of instruction in the majority of institutions for higher education. Colleges for science, arts and commerce degrees are typically affiliated with the University of Madras, which has three campuses in the city. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and the Anna University are two well known centers for engineering education in the city. The Indian Army's Officers Training Academy is also headquarted in the city. Chennai has a plethora of libraries, including British Council Library, American Library, Connemara Public Library, and Anna Centenary Library. The Connemara Public Library is one of four National Depository Centres in India that receive a copy of all newspapers and books published in the country. The Anna Centenary Library is the largest library in India. Chennai has two CSIR research institutions namely Central Leather Research Institute and Structural Engineering Research Centre.

Chennai Book Fair, an annual book fair organized in Chennai by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI), is the largest exhibition for Tamil book publishers to display their books. The fair is typically held for about 10 days between the last week of December and the third week of January. Thirty-fifth edition of the fair was held on 2012.