St Thomas College, Palai
St Thomas College, Palai, Arunapuram P.O. Kerala-686574, India.Founded in 1950, St. Thomas College, Palai, has to its credit almost seventy years of distinguished service in the field of higher education in the state of Kerala sending out many graduates maxima cum laude to carve out their destinies in diverse spheres. It is a college located in a semi-urban area catering to the needs of the students mainly coming from the rural background. The idea of establishing an Arts and Science College at Palai lay dormant for a long time in the minds of the Syrian Catholic community of the area. The year 1950 was remarkable in that, true to Taine’s dictum, man, moment and milieu conspired to make history. The Diocese of Palai was born and Fr. Mani Sebastian Vayalilkalapura, president of the college committee, was made the first Bishop of the Diocese and the Patron of the college. Veteran leaders like Mr. George Thomas Kottukapally, Mr. Cherian Kappen, Mr. R.V. Thomas, Mr. K. M. Chandy et.al. joined hands with the Bishop in founding the college for fulfilling the educational dreams of the hardworking agrarian people of Meenachil.
The sanction for starting the college had, in fact, been obtained from the erstwhile Travancore University two years earlier and a committee for the construction of the college building had been constituted. We were singularly fortunate in having Dr. P.J. Thomas, the renowned economist and advisor and representative of the Govt. of India to the U.N., as the first Principal of the college. Prof. V.J. Joseph, who was appointed Vice Principal, was also an academician endowed with a vision of the college growing like the mighty king of the forest, an evergreen oak with its branches reaching out far and wide. Between 1950 and 1960, apart from the intermediate course, Undergraduate courses in Mathematics, Botany, Economics, Chemistry, Zoology, Politics and Postgraduate courses in Hindi, Politics and Statistics were started. At present the college is situated in a lush green campus with a complex of ten multi-storeyed and over eight single storeyed buildings accommodating all Class Rooms, a Modern Library, University Study Centre, Modern Seminar Halls, Laboratories, Staff and Students’ Hostels, Auditoriums, Indoor Stadium, Civil Service Training Institute, IGNOU Study centre, Entrance Coaching Centres, Bank Test Coaching Centre, Career Guidance Centre, Student Amenity Centre, Fitness Centre and having over 10 acres of fields exclusively earmarked for sports and games along with a swimming pool. Besides, the college also has land earmarked for agriculture. The green campus adorned with a variety of trees and plants also adds to the glory and legacy of St. Thomas.
- The college uplift the weaker section of the society to make the future bright
- The college give human values with the best quality of higher education
- Highly experienced & skilled faculty members
St Thomas College, Palai, Arunapuram P.O. Kerala-686574, India.
- BEST NSS UNIT OF MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY
- St. Thomas College Palai is Awarded A++ Grade by NAAC
- International Collaboration with Lebanese French University, an Initiative of FINISHING SCHOOL The Finishing School initiated signing of MoU between St. Thomas College and Lebanese French University on 16th July. Dr. Mohammad Sadik, the President, Lebanese French University was a special dignitary.
- A Cambridge Assessment Team led by Ms. Saraswathi Sudhakar sealed the Intent to Collaborate, between St. Thomas College, Thrissur and Cambridge University, UK in association with Jyothi Engineering College, Cheruthuruthy. Ms. Saraswathy Sudhakar spoke about Cambridge University and CEFR (Common European Frame Work of Reference for Languages) followed by an [...]
- Reji Joseph Pulluthuruthiyil - Famous Indian journalist
- V. Joseph Thomas - IPS, ex-DGP of Kerala
- Anto Antony - member of parliament
- T K Jose IAS
- Don Max - Indian film director and editor
- Jimmy George - Volleyball Player
- Roshy Augustine - Minister for Water Resources, Government of Kerala
- Sibi George - Indian civil servant, ambassador of India to Kuwait
A person, who has passed Higher Secondary/Intermediate (10+2) any other examination recognized as equivalent thereto, shall be eligible for the course.
Facilities
- Boys Hostel
The college has a Christu Raj Hostel (C R) is a sprawling three-story structure located at the east end of the college campus on the banks of the Meenachil. Founded in 1953, C R has 85 double occupancy rooms for men where 150 undergraduate students and 20 postgraduate students may be accommodated. C R is a unit of St Thomas College Pala Educational Trust and it enjoys autonomy with respect to its internal administration under the overall supervision of the Board of Trustees. The hostel is administered by a warden appointed by the Bishop of Palai and he is assisted by an assistant warden and a resident tutor. - Girls Hostel
The college has a Christu Raj Hostel (C R) is a sprawling three-story structure located at the east end of the college campus on the banks of the Meenachil. Founded in 1953, C R has 85 double occupancy rooms for men where 150 undergraduate students and 20 postgraduate students may be accommodated. C R is a unit of St Thomas College Pala Educational Trust and it enjoys autonomy with respect to its internal administration under the overall supervision of the Board of Trustees. The hostel is administered by a warden appointed by the Bishop of Palai and he is assisted by an assistant warden and a resident tutor. - Gym
The college has a newly constructed Open Gym abiding by the green protocol of the college remains the first of its kind among nearby aided colleges. - Library
The college has a spacious, modern, and automated library with a large collection of books belonging to diverse disciplines. The College Library started functioning on 23.6.1950. From 1950 to 1952 the library was situated in St. Joseph’s block, which was the first block built for the college. Later it was shifted to A1 – 9 in the main block and functioned there till 1961. The construction of the Golden Jubilee memorial Library building was accomplished in 2004 and from then onwards the library began to function here. In the Library which functions on four floors, the ground floor is assigned for the undergraduate students. General books and facilities for photocopying are also provided here. The reference section on the first floor is one of the prominent reference libraries in Kerala with an approximate collection of 15000 books. There is also a reading section on the first floor. The second floor is an extensive area accessible to research scholars and PG students and the fourth floor is the periodical section.
Sports
The college has sports facilities for all students. The Multipurpose training hall can accommodate two thousand people and host conferences or ceremonies that need to accommodate large groups in a graceful and dignified setting. State-of-the-art wooden flooring (tongue and groove system) is ideal for the conduct of competitions in badminton, basketball, Table tennis, Volleyball, Netball, etc. it has sufficient space to lay six badminton courts at a time. - Cafeteria
The college has a canteen within the campus that offers meals and snacks at subsidized rates. The food prepared in hygienic conditions caters to the needs of the students. - Auditorium
The college has the Main Auditorium, Bishop Vayalil Hall, St. Joseph’s Hall, Kureethadom Hall, Cardinal Tisserant Hall, and AII-5 are the main halls to enable effective conduct of programs, seminars, conferences, etc. All these halls are equipped with state-of-the-art of facilities including high-quality acoustics. - Medical/Hospital
The college has a health club facility for students and staff. - IT Infrastructure
The College has a Computer Centre on the campus. The following courses are run by the centre for the students (i) Diploma in Computer Application (ii) Diploma in Office Automation (iii) PGDCA (part-time). The fee rate is moderate. Apart from this, students are given facilities for the study of Computer applications included in the regular syllabus and to use the internet for research and project work, at concessional rates. A new statistical laboratory and computer centre with advanced computing facilities has been set up by the Dept. of Statistics using the DST-FIST grant of the Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. Another Computer Lab for M. Sc. Biostatistics has also been set up using the UGC grant. - Laboratories
The college has a departmental-based laboratory facility for the students. - Swimming Pool
The college has a swimming pool facility. - Convenience Store
The college has a convenience store facility for students. (like stationery, cosmetics, Photostat services, etc.) - Guest Room
The college has guest house/waiting room facilities for visiting faculty and student family members. - Banks Facilities
The college has hosted a branch of The South Indian Bank also on the campus.
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