The importance and antiquity of education in Kerala are underscored by the state's ranking as among the most literate in the country. The educational transformation of Kerala was triggered by the efforts of the Church Mission Society missionaries, who were the pioneers that promoted mass education in Kerala, in the early decades of the 19th century. The local dynastic precursors of modern-day Kerala—primarily the Travancore Royal Family, the Nair Service Society, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam) and Muslim Educational Society (MES)—also made significant contribution to the progress on education in Kerala. Local schools were known by the general word kalaris, some of which taught martial arts, but other village schools run by Ezhuthachans were for imparting general educati