The district has the highest number of schools in Kerala as per the school statistics of 2019–20.
There are 898 Lower primary schools, 363 Upper primary schools, 355 High schools, 248 Higher secondary schools, and 27 Vocational Higher secondary schools in the district.
Hence there are 1620 schools in the district.
Besides these, there are 120 CBSE schools and 3 ICSE schools in the district.

554 government schools, 810 Aided schools, and 1 unaided school, recognized by the Government of Kerala have been digitalized.
In the academic year 2019–20, the total number of students studying in the schools recognized by Government of Kerala is 739,966 - 407,690 in the aided schools, 245,445 in the government schools, and 86,831 in the recognized unaided schools.

The district also plays a significant role in the higher education sector of Kerala.
The district is home to two of the main universities in the state- the University of Calicut centered at Thenhipalam which was established in 1968 as the first university in Malabar region and the second university in Kerala, and the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University centered at Tirur which was established in the year 2012.
AMU Malappuram Campus, one of the three off-campus centres of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is situated in Cherukara, which was established by the AMU in 2010.
An off-campus of the English and Foreign Languages University functions at Panakkad.
The district has the highest number of schools in Kerala as per the school statistics of 2019–20. There are 898 Lower primary schools, 363 Upper primary schools, 355 High schools, 248 Higher secondary schools, and 27 Vocational Higher secondary schools in the district. Hence there are 1620 schools in the district. Besides these, there are 120 CBSE schools and 3 ICSE schools in the district.
554 government schools, 810 Aided schools, and 1 unaided school, recognized by the Government of Kerala have been digitalized. In the academic year 2019–20, the total number of students studying in the schools recognized by Government of Kerala is 739,966 - 407,690 in the aided schools, 245,445 in the government schools, and 86,831 in the recognized unaided schools.
The district also plays a significant role in the higher education sector of Kerala. The district is home to two of the main universities in the state- the University of Calicut centered at Thenhipalam which was established in 1968 as the first university in Malabar region and the second university in Kerala, and the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University centered at Tirur which was established in the year 2012. AMU Malappuram Campus, one of the three off-campus centres of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is situated in Cherukara, which was established by the AMU in 2010. An off-campus of the English and Foreign Languages University functions at Panakkad.
Malappuram district