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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