About 15 percent of the total male migrants have cited education as the main reason for moving from their rural households to the urban areas of Kochi. The rural folk migrated to the metropolitan and commercial city of Kochi, with aspirations of higher education, to get a white-collar job through competitive examination or to become a professional in some field.

Thus, a large number of educational institutes, computer centers, hostels and hotels are have sprung up to cater to the needs of the migrants. Actually these commercial centers are staying profitable only due to the presence of these migrants. After the new education policy of the government got implemented, the number of coaching institutes coaching students intending to appear in the entrance examinations to the professional colleges in Kochi has come down drastically. The proliferation of engineering colleges in the private sector has resulted in the total demise of some coaching institutes as well.

However, the loss of one form of business has not meant a decrease in the demand for living and commercial spaces. Demand for commercial spaces in Kochi is always on the higher side. When the new high court complex got inaugurated, the demand for office space from lawyers increased phenomenally. Almost all the office spaces for rent around the high court complex have been totally occupied by the high court lawyers.

In recent times, the demand for office and living spaces is from people entering into Cochin to do business or on short business trips. Almost all the hotels now report total sell-out even during off-season times, due the increasing demand from the budget travelers and high-spending executives. While the educational and coaching institutes facing difficult times have merged their various operations, small hotel groups have tied up with the larger ones to survive. When considering the demand for apartments Kochi is witnessing more takers due to its position as a major commercial center in the near future.