ABOUT THE COLLEGE

 

    Mar Theophilus Training College, one of the premier Teaching Training Institutes in Kerala is situated in the lush and scenic Mar Ivanios Vidya Nagar and owes its inception to the prayerful insight of the divine visionary, the late Archbishop Mar Ivanios. The foundation of this great centre of learning was laid by the charismatic self of Benedict Mar Gregorios, the late Archbishop of Trivandrum. Under the unfailing and vital guidance of our patron, His Beatitude Moran Mor Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, Major Archbishop Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the college is now attempting newer heights of unparalleled excellence. His Excellency Rt. Rev. Dr. Samuel Mar lranius, Aux. Bishop of Trivandrum is the Co-patron of the college. The College is one among the prodigious line of impressive educational institutions managed by the Syro-Malankara Major Archi-Eparchy of Trivandrum, in accordance with the rights of the minority community guaranteed by the Constitution.

    The College derives its name from the Late Bishop Jacob Mar Theophilus of Thiruvalla. It started functioning in 1956 under the affiliation of the University of Kerala (Travancore University at that time) in the premises of Mar Ivanios College campus. Later the institution was shifted to a new campus (present Sarvodaya Vidyalaya Campus) and functioned there for a few decades. In 2001, to fully comply with NCTE norms, an independent educational complex was set up with futuristic infrastructural facilities. The new college building was blessed and opened by Late Major Archbishop Cyril Baselios Catholicos. The NCTE expert team white visiting the institution recorded their appreciation regarding the infrastructural and academic excellence of the college.

    Prof. J. Y. Thampy Haris. a renowned scholar, served as the first principal of the college. Eminent and distinguished personalities like Rev. Fr. Jose Mathew, Rev. Fr. George Mootheril, Rev. Sr. Stanislaus SIC, Prof. Susan Joseph, Prof. Mary Mathews, Rev. Sr. Dr. Sbeeha SIC, Rev. Dr. Jose Konnath. Rev. Sr. Dr. Mercykutty A. SIC and Dr. Esther Gladiz have adorned the post of the Principal of the college. Dr. K. Y. Benedict presently heads the college, steering it steadily through changing times. Rev. Fr. Thomas Kayyalakal, the bursar, caters to the physical and spiritual well-being of the institution. In the last six decades of its existence, the college has set great benchmarks in the field of teacher education in terms of excellence in infrastructure, state-of-the-art smart classrooms, resourceful faculty and overall student experience. The college offers Bachelors Degree in Education (B.Ed.) in six optional subjects namely English, Malayalam, Mathematics, Physical Science, Natural Science and Social Science. The course had been offered to one hundred and fifty students with eleven faculty members. The college commenced its first M.Ed (Masters Degree in Education) batch in 2005. The Self-financing M. Ed. Department functions under the expert tutelage of a Professor who acts as the course coordinator and four Assistant Professors, who operate the mode of instruction. It is a testimony to the institution's outstanding holistic vision that it was re-accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with an 'A' grade in 2014. Further re-accreditation was done with new parameters in 2022.

The implacable standard maintained by the college in the field of research has finally attained fruition with its elevation to a Research Centre under the University of Kerala. The pending M. Phil course which is currently under the process of attaining sanction is expected to bring the college closer to its academic and structural fullness. The College currently offers the two-year B. Ed. programme to a selected fifty students. The College stands for 'academic excellence, development of professional skills and character formation based on the vertical and horizontal dimensions of love so as to produce cognitively enriched, effectively trained, morally upright, socially committed and spiritually inspired teachers of India. The college which is celebrating its 60'h Anniversary from 2015- '16 is committed to mould teachers who are intellectually honest, academically effluent, technologically equipped, and emotionally mature in their words and deeds. Today, the college marches forward with enhanced vigour and vitality, holding high the motto 'Dominus Mea Illuminatio, meaning "God is my Light".