Historical Scott Christian college, Nagarcoil - first one in the Princely state of Travancore

postal stamp, 28 June 2018  istampgallery.com/

The Scott Christian College, Nagarcovil, Tamil Nadu  the first one to be started  in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore,  is one of the oldest colleges in the state of Tamil Nadu. It came up during the early period of colonial rule under the English company.  The origin of this 125 year old institution can be traced to a  village-church school at Mylaudy founded in 1809 the Rev. William Tobias Ringeltaube. He was  the pioneering missionary of the London Missionary Society in Mylaudy in the then South Travancore  state.  In 1818, the Rev. Charles Mead moved the Central School or Seminary over to   Nagercoil. The Rev. Dr James Duthie took the control of the  the Seminary in 1860, and, being a good administrator, he succeeded  in raising it to a college. Later in 1893, the college became  a Second Grade College affiliated to the University of Madras. This was possible with the generous contribution of 1000 pounds from  one Mr. Septimus Scott and a grant from the Government of Travancore.

Rev. James Duthie DD scott.ac.in

Initially, this historic  college had just 12 students under the Rev. Dr James Duthie, the first Principal of this famous college.  From 1894 to 1898  Mr. J.E. Dennison ran the college as the principal and he discontinued  his link with the South Travancore Mission in 1898. He managed the affairs of the college till the Rev. George Parker who became the head in January 1901. The college saw rapid growth under the Rev. Parker. Under the Indian University Act of 1904, the FA (First in Arts) course was replaced by a new course called the Intermediate Examination course. Rev. Parkers's father-in-law E.D. Pochin of Manchester donated adequate funds to buy  an extensive  ground  for the recreation of students. Rev. Parker was well assisted by the Rev. R. H. Eastaff who joined him in 1921. He was instrumental in starting the Scott Christian College and School Magazine which was published every term during his period of service. In 1924, the college library gained a name and was well-equipped with valuable books more than 4000. In Feb. 1926, the silver jubilee of the Rev. Parker's service was celebrated by the college management and the old students.

Scott Chritian School, Nagarcoil, TN. wikimapia.org

The faculty of science department got priority when G. H. Marsden, MA (Cambridge university)  became the principal in 1927. He helped the intermediate college grow with 140 students. In the same year, the new principal allowed women students to pursue there and further due importance was given to sports activities. In 1928 Mr. Marsden introduced annual medical exam of all enrolled students of his college. Lord Irwin, the Viceroy with Lady Irwin paid a visit to the College on 9 December 1929.  From 1938, till the formation of a new district as part of Tamil Nadu state, the college had affiliation with the Univ. of Travancore. In 1950 this college became one of the few ones in this region to offer degree in sports. In 1957, it became part of Madras University.  After 1966, Scott Christian College was affiliated to the newly formed Madurai Kamaraj University. Since 1990, it has been affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli. Upon the advice of D. A.L. Mudaliar, VC, Madras university who inspected the facilities here in 1957, the new campus came up on a plot of 43 acres close to the highway. Mr. Arumai Raj took over as the principal in 1957 after the retirement of  Principal. G. H. Marsden, 

Presently, the college offers several undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in various fields, including linguistics. It is an A grade college with five stars  under NAAC, Govt. of India. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Christian_College
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