History of Carmel College

Carmel College, the first affiliated college in Mala under the University of Calicut, is a residential college for women. Established in 1981 by the Sisters of the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC Udaya Province Irinjalakuda), the propelling force behind this decisive venture was the farsighted vision of educating womenfolk by Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara, the founder of the CMC.

Carmel College was informally inaugurated and the classes began from 3rd August 1981 with Sr. Aurea CMC as its First Manager and Founder Principal. With hard work and determination, the institution became a 1st grade college by 1984 with the commencement of the two-degree programmes, B.Sc Mathematics and B.A Sociology. In 2001, the college was upgraded to PG College with the commencement of MA History. Currently, the college offers 13 UG Programmes and 10 PG Programmes,Integrated MA Sociology, and hosts the Research Centre of Botany. Additionally, 6 courses are offered under B.Voc Programme and 2 diploma courses under Community College.

With our Motto ‘Light and Love’, we aim to empower the women by providing them good quality education that can hone their cognitive, emotional and physical faculty to evolve as better individuals and citizens. Our industry and sincerity towards ensuring academic excellence were well paid off when the college got accredited with ‘B+ +’ Grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in the year 2004. In the second cycle in 2010, Carmel College was re- accrediting with ‘A’ Grade (3.03 CGPA) by NAAC and was able to maintain the ‘A’ Grade in the third cycle (2016) of NAAC too with much higher CGPA of 3.22.

Our college aspires to cultivate the ideals of social commitment, civic duty, and inclusivity in students in addition to grooming their creativity and versatile flair. Various clubs, forums and cells such as Career Guidance and Placement Cell, Anti-narcotic Cell, Nature Club, Women’s Cell, Bhoomithrasena Club, ED Club, Techie Club, CLIS Club, Drama Club, Singer’s Forum, Dancer’s Forum, to name a few, function in the college with this purpose. Student Union, SQAC, NSS, NCC, and department associations are the prominent student-led units steering the quality initiatives of the institution. Students are encouraged to take part in knowledge and skill enhancement programmes like Walk with a Scholar Programme, Scholar Support Programme, and Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) under the Government of Kerala’s Higher Education Department.

The College library serves as the prime reservoir of knowledge for the staff and students. The new library complex was inaugurated on 4th March 2003 with open access to internet browsing systems, reprography, CD RAM facilities, and houses over 20,000 books and has a wide variety of magazines and journals. In January 2014, the library was fully automated with KOHA 17.11 software that can easily facilitate catalogue searching, information retrieval, circulation, book reservation, renewal, membership and acquisition. Presently, the library is upgraded with 4 Networking Resource Centres, easy access to INFLIBNET, and other support facilities. This hub of knowledge mesmerizes the students and helps in nurturing love towards reading.

The institution provides residential facility to both staff and students. In 1985, the new double storied hostel building with all necessary facilities was inaugurated. Another hostel was built with the UGC fund and was inaugurated in 2015.Ample physical facilities are available in the college to carry out sports/games and other cultural activities. The college Auditorium cum Indoor Stadium provides a seating capacity for 1200 people. It also provides sufficient space to practice shuttle, badminton and volley ball games during the monsoon season. Our college is equipped with 5 conference halls, 3 seminar halls and an open stage area, in addition to Student’s Corner, Fitness Centre and Arts &Cultural Centre.

Over the years, our students, with their diligence and consistency in the academic as well as non- academic pursuits in State and National Levels, have brought prestige to the college in the form of University Ranks and awards/recognitions in both Arts and Sports competitions. The institution has made substantial progress in its mission to provide quality education and has taken significant measures to ensure proactive engagement with the community.