stations, the Kerala backwaters, beaches, lagoons, and wildlife sanctuaries. Kovalam & Varkala and its internationally known beaches are in Thiruvananthapuram district. Thiruvananthapuram is a major destination for chartered flights to India for medical tourism, with over fifty recognized Ayurveda centres in and around the city. The city also offers world-class modern hospitals. Convalescent facilities are available at nearby five-star beach resorts and hill stations. Education Thiruvananthapuram district is a major academic hub. The University of Kerala is in Thiruvananthapuram city. There are 20 arts and sciences colleges in the district, and the estimated total number of students is 15,926. The University of Kerala has its research and higher-education centres at Kariavattom. Thiruvananthapuram Medical College is the premier health institute of the state and one of the finest in the country. It is being upgraded to the status of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Thiruvananthapuram's three main engineering colleges are the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, and Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering. The two main law colleges are the Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram and the Kerala Law Academy Law College. Among the many other well-known arts and sciences colleges are University College Thiruvananthapuram, Mahatma Gandhi College, Mar Ivanios College, Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram, College of Fine Arts Trivandrum,Sree Narayana College Chempazhanthy and Swathi Thirunal College of Music, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Centre for Development Studies, L B S Institute of Technology for Women, Central Polytechnic College, Vattiyoorkavu and the College of Engineering Attingal. There are 1,129 schools in the district, classified as Government, Aided, or Unaided schools. Government schools are directly run by the state government, and follow the state government syllabus. Aided schools also follow the state syllabus. Additionally, there are four Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya run directly by the Central government and following the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus. Private schools run by education trusts or boards may follow any or all of the CBSE, Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) or Kerala state syllabi. The first international school in Kerala, the Trivandrum International School, was started in August 2003. Media Thiruvananthapuram has long been a media center in India. Kerala Chandrika, the first newspaper of the state, was published from Thiruvananthapuram in 1789. Now, more than 30 newspapers have been published from the district, including The Hindu,