St.
John's College, Palayamkottai,
Tirunelveli one of the four
oldest colleges in Tamil Nadu
is a premier institution in
India committed to the cause
of higher education and to
the upliftment of the socially
and academically marginalised
people in the South Tamil
Nadu.
Established
in 1878 by the Church Missionary
Society of England (CMS) the
College has travelled a long
way from its modest and humble
beginning and has completed
130 years of its glorious
existence. It was affiliated
to Madras University first
and then to Madurai Kamaraj
University and now it has
been affiliated to Manonmaniam
Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli.
The
Rev. Schaffter, an English
missionary was the first Principal
and he guided the destiny
of the College for a spell
of 42 years from 1878 to 1920.
The College has grown into
a citadel of academic excellence
and the credit should go to
its founders, the pioneers
in the field of higher education.
From Rev. Schaffter to Rev.
Young, from Young to Bennet,
from Bennet to Selwyn and
thereafter Prof. J. Vedasironmani,
Prof. D.A. Thangasamy, Prof.
Ed.D. Ponnudurai, Prof. T.
Pandian Thanasingh and Dr.
J. Balasingh this College
has had the benefit of impeccable
stewardship and guidance from
every one of its Principals.
The
institution is run by the
Tirunelveli Diocesan Trust
Association (TDTA), the educational
agency of Tirunelveli Diocese
of the Church of South India.
Currently, Rt. Rev. Dr. S.
Jeyapaul David, Bishop in
Tirunelveli is the Chairman
of the College Governing Board
- Mr. A.D.J.C. Thinahar, M.A.,
is the Secretary and Correspondent
and Dr. R.K. Jacob is the
Principal.
This
magnificent institution, true
to its motto, "From Darkness
Lead Us Unto Light",
has produced thousands of
eminent personalities in all
walks of life and they are
all over India and abroad.
The
Institution which has grown
into first grade Post-Graduate
College with 15 undergraduate
programmes, 5 Post-Graduate
programmes, 1 M.Phil. programme
and 1 Research Department.
The College situated in the
centre of the Tirunelveli
City has more than 2000 students
on its roll.
It is a sprawling campus with
a very big playfield. There
are two well furnished hostels
for men and women students.
The faculty is strong with
a committed band of more than
100 dedicated and highly qualified
teachers - many of them with
doctoral degrees.
The
NAAC Peer Team visited our
College in 2002 and after
a thorough inspection awarded
our college a 'Four Star Status'.
Already the College has been
selected by the Manonmaniam
Sundaranar University as Satellite
Centre for Information Technology
offering U.G. and P.G. I.T.
related programmes.
Now,
the Twinning programme, a
joint academic venture with
Annamalai University, is one
more feather in our cap. The
college is well poised academically
with sound infrastructure
for launching this innovative
Twinning programme.
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