Principal

To Fresh Acmes and Echelons High

“There is a divinity that shapes our ends….” Thus goes the Hamletian anagnorisis as William Shakespeare throws into high relief the workings of Providence. An indubitable validation of the verity of this can be witnessed in the historic inception of St. Thomas College, Palai, in 1950 and its momentous furtherance spread over a time span of seven decades and a half. Coeval with the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palai, the College holds aloft the high ideals and sublime values of the Catholic Church in the fulfilment of its avowed purpose of igniting minds with an avid passion for knowledge. In pioneering the campaign to pull off cutting-edge accomplishments this lofty citadel of erudition verily is a trailblazer.

The Founding Fathers of Palai St. Thomas College, under the visionary leadership of H.E. Mar Sebastian Vayalil, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Palai, envisioned an academic arcadia on the pulchritudinous banks of the Meenachil River (celebrated as Kavanaar in ancient Manipravalam poems) for the assiduous georgic community of the verdant environs. Over the years the college has grown far beyond its provincial roots to become one of the chosen destinations for aspiring students not only from within the state but even from states lying far distant from Kerala. The number of students has multiplied ten-fold, with 18 Undergraduate and 15 Postgraduate Departments and 11 Research Centres. With an international level integrated sports complex, Olympics-standard swimming pool and all necessary amenities for sports, St. Thomas no doubt is one of the most resplendent stars in the sports firmament of Kerala. Hostels for boys and girls ensuring the well-being of outstation students, Civil Service Institute to foster the competitive acuity of enterprising students, Innovation and Incubation Centre functioning as a hub for the germination of novel ideas, Student Amenity Centre catering to the victual-requisitions of students and a plethora of student-centric facilities make the college a veritable scholastic sanctuary.

The crowning glory of our attainments has come in the conferment of Autonomous status on the NAAC A⁺⁺ College by the University Grants Commission. Inclusivity on all fronts has been achieved by the college with co-education in all programmes. The nonpareil track record of top academic positions and UGC-NET/JRF qualifiers will definitely progress unhindered in the spruced-up scenario. Illustrious alumni of the college have always adorned multifarious dignified positions in all walks of life.

Basking in past glory must not deter us from clear-sighted perception on the future. Futuristic propulsion in all our attitudes and actions should fortify us and stand as a bulwark against complacency. St Thomas College, Palai, is not to rest and rust on a lackadaisical mindset that will certainly culminate in lacklustre performance. At present we occupy a liminal space between the affiliating system and autonomy. The coming year is the Platinum Jubilee year of our great institution. Crossing this temporal threshold puts in front of us a panorama of opportunities. Grab them we must, lest the adamantine foundation of St. Thomas College should cease to foster the interminable growth that is its destiny. The Management, staff, students, parents and all the stakeholders of this cherished centre of higher learning must etch in their minds these words of perpetual value sung by Tennyson’s Ulysses, “To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield”, as the fundamental motto behind all our enterprises.

Shubham Bhūyāt!