November 12, 2025
It is a matter of pride for the CMIs and perhaps, for the Indian Church as well, that St. Chavara established a 'Sanskrit School' in 1846 at Mannannam, which had incorporated very many modern practices of inclusion and indigenisation: 1. Selection of Sanskrit as the medium. I am yet to come across what inspired him to take a decision of this sort. Christians of Keralam, as such, were not all that progressive with the 3Rs of education, let alone to have the classical Sanskrit to have any fascination for them. It was the language of authority (read, domination); however, for a normal Indian of those days, an aspirational domain of learning, reserved for those of the higher echelons of life (read, caste) then. That appears to have been a daring step. 2. Admission was said to be open to all, including the most marginalised of those times (the Dalits, the modern rights-based approach nomenclature) 3. With provisions for mid-day meal to attract the learners to the school and remain there.
This happened when formal modern schooling was hardly ever heard of in Keralam, or in most parts of the Indian subcontinent. The schooling that existed was under the direct supervision of a knowledgeable male elder, generally termed Asaan (most likely a corruption of Acharya-n, an educator who teaches by practice), and such home-based or temple-based centres were called kalari (circle of mastery of arts including martial arts). At that time, for a Catholic local priest to have come up with such an ideal was simply astounding, radical!! However, it appears to have died down soon. Nothing much is heard about any educational initiative until Bishop Marceline comes up with a pastoral letter promoting education in 1857, followed by an order (a circular) issued by his Vicar General, Fr Chavara Kuriakose Elias, making it obligatory on the churches to start schools, failing which their power to minister sacraments would be withdrawn (amsa mudakku). This was a very serious step.
I was very curious to know what the impact of this circular was. How many parishes obliged? Are there any records? Or did they manage by setting up a typical 'aasaan kalari' attached to the churches. For a quick survey does not reveal the establishment of several schools immediately after that circular.
The CMI initiatives can be traced thus:
In 1857, the group of pious women Chavara had gathered together at Koonammavu were instrumental in initiating what later became a formal school for girls. Then we find a series of schools being established by the fledgling religious society one after the other - the usual list goes thus:
St. Ephrem's, Mannanam - 1885
St Aloysius, Elthuruth - 1888
St Joseph's, Pulincunnu, 1898
Infant Jesus, Vazhakulam, 1911
St Joseph's, Mutholy, 1918.
I was surprised and happy to discover that a very important year and institution have been missed out in this listing. I was super glad to learn that St. Mary's school, Thevara, established in 1881 by Sacred Heart Monastery, which itself was established only in 1879, should be considered the first formal school established by the CMIs, and run by the CMIs. It was at the small island of Chammanatukara, for those days, far removed from Ernakulam (about 5 kilometres), which is now called Thevara. As in the case of almost all other listed schools, it also had its origin as a primary school, attaining high school status in 1924, and having a higher education institution, the first ever by the CMIs, attached to it. This is Sacred Heart College, established in 1944.
Thus, perhaps, in the district of Ernakulam as well, it could be one of the oldest schools. My search locates SRV school as established in 1844/45; The establishment year of KP LP school, Perumanur, which I consider very old - could not be located. Santa Cruz school of Fort Kochi, under the patronage of the Latin diocese was established only in 1888. That would put St. Mary's - SH school as the no. 2 or no. 3 oldest school of the district.
Thevarites could be proud of, so too the Kanatt family, as it was Fr Jacob Kanatt who joined the young religious society who paved the way for its establishment. And heartians everywhere too!
When the experienced and visionary CMS missionaries established a school as early as 1817 which grew to a college in 1838, the young inexperienced native order of the Carmelites was visionary enough to start with education as an outflow of its faith praxis, with the first school emerging in 1857. However, it had to wait for almost another century to venture into the more challenging arena of higher education (1944).
Even then, it can be included among the pioneering institutions in the field in the state of Keralam.
Barring the government initiatives (Maharaja's Trivandrum, Maharaja's Kochi, Thalassery Brennen), the missionary initiatives of CMS college, Kottayam and UC College, Aluva and the diocesan initiatives of Changanachery (St Berchman's 1829), Thrissur (St Thomas 1922), the CMI initiatives come next, only after the great initiative for women by the CSST congregation in 1925. Thus, on the higher education map of Keralam with more than 1000 colleges, Sacred Heart College stands 9th overall, 6th by the Christian community, 4th by the Catholic community, 2nd by a religious order, and 1st by a religious order of men (or women) in the Syro-Malabar church. It began as a men's college, and after 30 years of its establishment, by some act of providence or a deliberate act of the CMIs, in the international year of women, 1975, it became a co-ed institution - becoming one of the first such men's colleges to open its doors to women as well.
Today it stands tall among the HEIs of the state, with a consistent national ranking averaging top 50 in the past 10 years, and always rated no.1 in the state by various independent surveys. It holds a unique place with its co-ed policy, and a deliberate support for student participation, academic excellence without compromising on the promotion of excellence and talents in the fields of sports, arts and culture.
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