This multidisciplinary center of higher learning had its humble beginnings as a single room English school started by Cochin Sarkar in 1845 'to impart such instruction to the students as would enable them to converse with Englishmen without the aid of an interpreter'. The school was upgraded into a college in 1875 and in June 1925 the college got its present name. It was raised to a first grade college providing instructions in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Zoology, History and Economics and affiliated to Madras University. At that time itself there were 2 hostels and physical education, literary and science associations functioning in full swing. Sir C V Raman and Dr S Radhakrishnan were among the speakers on the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1925
The first PG course was started in 1947 in the department of Chemistry that already had research facilities holding to M.Sc and Ph.D. Following- the integration of Cochin and Travancore states the college was transferred from Madras to Travancore University in 1949. The further growth and development by way of student strength and diversification of courses were so rapid that the maintenance of steady equilibrium became difficult. The student strength rose from 500 in 1925 to 2802 in 1998 and the teaching faculty also followed a parallel increase from 21 to 195.
The college library is 125 years old and has a collection of nearly one lakh books including a prestigious collection of rare literature books. The reference section itself has 2000 books. However, lack of space is one of the vexing problems of the library. The construction of a 3-storied library complex will be starting soon with UGC assistance. A reference and information section, inter-library networking and Internet facility are some of the immediate requirements of the library.
