St. Thomas College, Pala (Autonomous) is a government aided college of higher education located in

Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County * Pala, Järva County, ...

town,

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, India. It was founded on 7 August 1950 by the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palai The Eparchy of Palai is a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Syro-Malabar Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction or eparchy of the Catholic Church with an area of 1166 km2 comprising the Meenachil taluk and a few villages of the neighbouring tal ...

. The college is affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam and was re-accredited with A++ grade by

NAAC NAAC may refer to: *National Assessment and Accreditation Council, an organization that assesses and accredits institutions of higher education in India. * North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, near Carthage, Tunisia. *North American Anglican ...

in February 2021. The college is recognized under the sections 2(f) and 12B of the UGC Act 1956. The Government of Kerala has recognized the college as a Special Grade College.

History

Founded in 1950. The main block, "Tisserant Hall", called A-block, stoutly built with an enormous roof span and massive columns was ready to house the administration, classrooms, laboratories and libraries in 1953. The first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited the college in 1954. In 1981, Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Pallickaparambil took over as the Bishop of Palai and the patron of St. Thomas College. In 2005 H.E. Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangattu became the Bishop of Palai and the Patron of the college. The college celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1976 with Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi as the chief guest. The preceding decade had been one of hectic academic activity during which more Post graduate courses- English, Physics, Economics and Mathematics were started, new hostels inaugurated, more blocks added to the cluster of buildings in the campus etc. Rev. Dr. N.M. Thomas, who succeeded Fr. Joseph Kureethadam as principal in 1968, retired from service in the jubilee year passing the baton to Prof. P.M. Chacko. Fr. James Vellankal followed Prof. Chacko in 1984. The successors of Fr. Vellankal included an illustrious line of academic administrators combining erudition with sharp acumen - Fr. Enas Ottathengumkal (1986-1991), Fr. Philip Njaralakkattu (1991-1995), Rev. Dr. Kurian Mattam (1995-2001) and Rev. Dr. M.M. Mathew Maleparambil (2001–06). During 2006-09 Rev. Dr. Mathew John K was officiated as the drawing and disbursement officer.

Accreditation

The

National Assessment and Accreditation Council The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is a public autonomous body of the government of India that assesses and accredits higher education institutions (HEIs) in India. It is funded by the University Grants Commission and hea ...

(NAAC) has awarded A++ Grade to St.Thomas' College with CGPA score 3.56. Furthermore, UGC has recognised St. Thomas College as one among the six colleges in Kerala accorded with the status of 'College with Potential for Excellence'(CPE).

Notable alumni

* V. Joseph Thomas - IPS, ex-DGP of Kerala *

Anto Antony Anto Antony Punnathaniyil (born 1 May 1957) is an Indian politician and agriculturist who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Pathanamthitta, Kerala, since 2009. A member of Indian National Congress, he serves as a member of the Stand ...

- Member of parliament * Don Max - film director and editor *

Jimmy George Jimmy George (8 March 1955 – 30 November 1987) was an Indian volleyball player and captain of the Indian national volleyball team. Often dubbed the God of Indian volleyball, he is considered as one of the greatest volleyball players of all ti ...

- Volleyball player * Roshy Augustine - Minister for Water Resources,

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

* Sibi George - civil servant, ambassador of India to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Paul Zacharia Mundattuchundayil Paul Scaria (born 5 June 1945), popularly known as Paul Zacharia or Zacharia, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his body of literary works composed of short stories, novellas, travelogues, screenplays, ess ...

- Writer *

Miya George Gimi George, better known by her stage name Miya George, is an Indian actress and model who predominantly works in Malayalam films, along with a few Tamil films. She made her film debut by playing short roles in films such as '' Oru Small Famil ...

- Actress *

Jose Chacko Periappuram Jose Chacko Periappuram (born on April 28, 1958) is an Indian cardiac surgeon and medical writer who performed the first successful heart transplant in the state of Kerala, India, as well as the first successful heart retransplant in the cou ...

- Cardiac Surgeon

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas College, Palai Catholic universities and colleges in India Universities and colleges in Kottayam district Education in Pala, Kerala Educational institutions established in 1950 1950 establishments in India Arts and Science colleges in Kerala Colleges affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala