CMS College Kottayam

Founded in 1817, the CMS College, Kottayam is now one of the oldest and largest colleges in India with 16 departments offering 16 Undergraduate Programmes, 16 Postgraduation Programmes and 8 Ph.D Prgrammes for 2586 students, 149 teaching faculty mem ammes for 2586 students, 149 teaching faculty members and 72 administrative staffs. Deeply rooted in Kottayam and dedicated to its mission, the CMS College is one of the top colleges in India. With its 16 departments the CMS College offers programs in almost all academic fields in arts and sciences. Whether you have a passion for basic science, applied science, literature, history, politics, commerce or economics, you will find a department that best suits your needs. The CMS College endeavors to live up to its motto Thy Word is Truth which inspired the founding fathers of the college to enlighten the populace of this region two centuries ago. The emblem of the college is a translation of the motto. The vision, mission, and objectives are established accordingly. The CMS College shall be a centre of excellence for imparting value-based liberal education aimed at promoting inclusive and holistic growth of the learner with thrust on real-time needs. Achieve excellence by imparting quality education through teaching, learning, research, and extension activities. Inculcate values of integrity, justice, and compassion in the young minds to keep alive the missionary zeal of the founders. Execute academic and administrative policies in a flexible environment. Ensure optimum utilization of resources for the benefit of society. Create awareness on human rights, cultural and spiritual heritage, scientific temper, and ecology. Empower students as the agents of transformation and equip them to face local and global challenges.Two hundred years is but a tiny drop in the unceasing flow of cosmic time. On the human scale, however, it amounts to a life span of about ten generations. That is if the first-ever graduates of the college sent their children to CMS College Kottayam, and each succeeding generation did the same, they would have their 10th generation progeny studying here at present. This is only one indication of the antiquity of CMS College Kottayam in the history of higher education not just in Kerala, but in India as a whole. Yes, CMS College, Kottayam – The College Cotym in its original orthographic avatar – was born 200 years ago, in 1817. The pre-natal history of The College, however, goes further back to the time when Colonel John Munroe assumed charge as the Dewan of Travancore. He was not just an administrator, but a visionary and social reformer. His zeal for social change is borne out by the pivotal role he played in the abolition of slavery in Travancore in 1813. The same zeal prompted Colonel Munroe to appoint a commission to inquire into the socio-economic conditions of Syrian Christians in the province. Soon after, he appealed to the British provincial capital in Madras to initiate the process for starting a college in Kottayam. He also wrote to the Church Missionary Society, which had been established in 1799 with the avowed purpose of carrying out missionary and educational activities around the globe, requesting the society to depute highly qualified missionaries who would work as teachers in the college proposed to be set up in Kottayam. In the meantime, the British Parliament ratified a charter empowering East India Company to foray into missionary and educational work. In the same year, i.e., in 1813, Maharani Gouri Lakshmi Bai(1810-15) of the Travancore Royal family granted 16 acres of land, 500 rupees in cash, and timber from public forests for the construction of college buildings on the banks of the Meenachil River. The construction was also supported financially by the proceeds from a deposit made by Col. Colin Macaulay, the first Resident of Travancore, for the benefit of Syrian Christians in Travancore. ...view more