A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY
The University of Travancore which eventually became the
University of Kerala was established in 1937 by a promulgation
of the Maharaja of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama
Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the University.
Sir C. P Ramaswamy Ayyar, the then Diwan of the State, was
the first Vice-Chancellor. It was the sixteenth University
to be set up in India and ten Colleges within the State
of Travancore which were affiliated to the Madras University
became the affiliated colleges of the University of Travancore.
In 1957, the Kerala University Act, Act 14 of 1957, was
brought into force and the University of Travancore was
renamed University of Kerala. The University had three campuses
located in three different parts of the State viz. Thiruvananthapuram,
Ernakulam and Kozhikode. In 1968, the University Centre
at Kozhikode became a full -fledged University covering
the Colleges and Departments located in Thrissur, Palakkad,
Kozhikode and Kannur Districts of Kerala. The Cochin University
of Science and Technology and the Kerala Agricultural University
were set up in 1971 and in 1983, the Mahatma Gandhi University
was established. With the establishment of these Universities,
the area of the jurisdiction of the University of Kerala
has been limited to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha
Districts and some parts of Pathanamthitta District.
At present, the University has sixteen faculties and 41
departments of teaching and research. There are 157 affiliated
colleges. Of these, 46 are aided Arts and Science colleges
and 14 are unaided . There are two Law colleges, 17 Engineering
colleges (of which 14 are unaided), four Medical Colleges
(two are self financing) seven aided Teachers’ Training
colleges, 30 unaided Teacher Training Colleges, four Ayurveda
colleges, two Homeopathy colleges, one Sidha Medical College,
two Fine Arts Colleges, one Music College, three Dental
colleges (of which two are unaided), four unaided Pharmacy
colleges and one college of Physical Education. Besides
these, there are four affiliated institutions conducting
two year full time MBA course, five colleges offering MCA
and ten Nursing colleges, all in the unaided sector. The
University’s Engineering College in Kariavattom campus
offers courses like Information Technology, Computer Science
and Engineering, Electronics and Communication etc...
The University Departments offer a wide range of teaching
and research at post-graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels.
The courses in the Departments are conducted in the Credit
and Semester System . The University has also extended the
Semester System to all the Post Graduate courses from 2001.
At present, about 32 colleges offer post graduate teaching
programmes. Some of the affiliated colleges offer
M. Phil. courses and some colleges have been recognised
as research centres. The University has also recognised
a number of other institutions as research centres. All
these institutions conform to the aims and objectives of
the University and its programme of teaching and research.
The University’s colleges of Teacher Education (launched
in 1990-91), offer B.Ed. with an intake of 180 students
in each of the ten centres. The eight University Institutes
of Technology offer courses like Computer Science, Electronics,
Business Administration etc., Two centres conduct M. Sc.
Computer Science and one UIT offers MBA.
The Institute of Distance Education caters to the needs
of thousands who wish to enroll for different courses. In
addition to the traditional degree and post - graduate courses,
the Institute now runs degree courses like Computer Science
and Computer Application. With the abolition of Private
Registration in the post-graduate level, the Institute of
Distance Education now offers all the PG courses which were
once offered privately. As a result, the enrolment in the
institute has grown threefold.
In addition to the Departments of teaching, the University
also has several centres for studies and research in special
areas. The International Centre for Kerala Studies, the
Centre for Canadian Studies, the Centre for Australian Studies,
the Centre for Comparative Literature, Sree Narayana Study
Centre, Centre for English Language Teaching, Centre for
Vedanta Studies, V.K. Krishna Menon Study Centre, Christian
Study Centre for Cultural and Social Change and Centre for
Gandhian Studies are functioning under the University. It
has also been decided to start an Ambedkar Study Centre.
The Academic Staff College set up with UGC aid, offers orientation
and refresher courses to the teachers in affiliated colleges.
It has been rated as the best in the country.
The Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library,
which has an invaluable collection of rare and precious
manuscripts, has been made the State Nodal Agency for the
preservation and documentation of manuscripts. A Digital
Heritage Archiving Centre also functions in the Library.
The Department of Publications, one of the oldest Departments
of the University, has brought out a series of glossaries
in science subjects, popular science books and translations
of classics. The five volume Kerala Sahitya Charithram written
by Mahakavi Ulloor S. Parameswara Ayyar and the series Sahithya
Nayakanmar (Men of Letters) are some of the most prestigious
publications of the Department. The Chitra Ramayana, based
on palm - leaf manuscripts, is another notable publication.
The University has also published the first ever complete
English translation of Hortus Malabaricus, the classical
treatise on the plant wealth of Asia and the tropics, in
2003.
The seven volumes of the proposed eleven-volume Malayalam
Lexicon have been released so far. The University has been
publishing since 1946 the Journal of Indian History, a significant
publication on historical studies and research. A quarterly
newsletter entitled The University Herald is also published.
The Observatory, founded by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal in
1837, opens a world of celestial wonders to the students,
through the computer-aided lectures and the facilities for
star-gazing.
The University of Kerala has the honour of being the first
University in India to ensure participation of students
in the University Syndicate. The Academic Council and the
Senate also have student members.
University Study Centres have been set up with UGC assistance,
at Kollam, Alappuzha and Pandalam. These Centres cater to
the needs of the students outside Thiruvananthapuram. Besides
these, there are 13 Taluk Information Centres. The University
also supplies information to students through the Helpdesks
in affiliated colleges.
The Co-ordinator of the N.S.S programme and the Director
of the Student Services organize youth welfare activities
at the University level with the active co-operation of
the University Students’ Union. The University Students’
Union has been very active since 1939 and has taken the
initiative to offer to the students many community based
and popular co-curricular activities. The University bagged
the Indira Gandhi National Award for the best NSS activities
in 2005
Department of Physical Education has gifted to the country
outstanding sportsmen and women. The University is now planning
to renovate the synthetic track of the University Stadium
with Governmental assistance. The establishment of the Lakshmibai
National College of Physical Education at Kariavattom, managed
by the Government of India, is another land mark in the
history of the University. Another significant development
is the starting of several short term courses like TV News
reading, Functional English, etc... in the Centre for Adult
Continuing Education and Extension. This has enabled the
University to realise the dream of ‘further education
of the educated’. The CACEE received the UNESCO- NLM
award for literacy in 2005.
During 1997, the University celebrated its Diamond Jubilee.
The celebration involved the starting of new teaching Departments
and setting up of new buildings like the International Youth
Hostel at Thiruvananthapuram.
On 28th December 2000, the University conferred the Honorary
Degree of D. Litt. on Nobel Laureate Prof. Amartya Sen.
The other scholars honoured recently through the conferment
of D. Litt. are Dr. K. J. Yesudas and Dr. Laurie Baker (2003).
The University’s Web site www.keralauniveristy.edu
launched in January 2000, offers several services like downloadable
application forms, question papers of past examinations,
free resource links, subject gateway, etc,... The daily
press releases and results of examinations are published
on the site. The University also issues Degree Certificates
with Hologram and over 112 security features. The Interactive
Voice Response System helps students to get information
over telephone.
The University of Kerala has widened its horizons by entering
into academic cooperation with some foreign Universities
like Valladolid of Spain and Claremont of the United States
of America. The UGC has identified the University as one
of the 26 institutions selected for promotion of India Studies
by foreign students. The National Assessment and Accreditation
Committee has placed the University at the B++ grade
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