Sree Kerala Varma College is a government-aided college located in Kanattukara, Thrissur, Kerala, India. The collage was established in August 1947 by Aikya Keralam Thampuran. As of 2025, the college is currently managed by the Cochin Devaswom Board and is affiliated with the University of Calicut.
The establishment of a new college in Thrissur was proposed to the Maharaja of Cochin Aikya Keralam Thampuran by a committee of citizens, including Cheloor Mana Itti Ravi Namboodiri. The Maharaja approved the proposal, granted the permission for use of Merry Lodge Palace, and agreed to name the institution Sree Kerala Varma College.
The Maharaja extended a grant of â¹100,000 to the college and a loan of â¹400,000 for capital expenditure, along with 250 cubic feet of timber for construction. The college opened on 11 August 1947; the first student admitted was V. K. Malathy, who later joined the English Department faculty, and Kavithilakan Prof. P. Sankaran Nambiar served as the institution's first principal.
Initially, the college offered Intermediate and B.A. Junior courses. In 1948, B.Com. and B.A. (Music) were introduced, with the music course noted as the first of its kind in Kerala before being discontinued in 1952âÂÂ53. Science courses began in 1953âÂÂ54, and in 1965 the college introduced two postgraduate programmes: M.A. in English and M.A. in Economics.
The campus is about 3 kilometres from the centre of Thrissur.
Sree Kerala Varma College offers undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), and research programs across various disciplines.
The college is affiliated with the University of Calicut and follows its curriculum guidelines.
The college library occupies a two-story building adjacent to the administrative block. The library contains over 70,000 books and subscribes to online and print periodicals and magazines, with access to back volumes via INFLIBNET and NLIST, an online public access catalogue (OPAC), and reprography services offered through the Cooperative Store adjacent to the library building.
There are separate hostels for male and female students. The womenâÂÂs hostel accommodates 220 students, and the menâÂÂs hostel accommodates 120, with a gym facility available to residents.
The Prof. N. D. Subramanian Stadium on campus offers facilities for cricket, basketball, and football. The campus includes four sports hostels sanctioned by the Kerala Sports Council, housing approximately fifty athletes in basketball, weightlifting, judo, and swimming. The gymnasium in the Main Block is equipped for training, exercise, and bodybuilding.
Students can participate in organized sports, cultural events, and extracurricular clubs, including NCC and NSS units.
Students participate in football, cricket, basketball, handball, kabaddi, swimming, and boxing; facilities and coaching are provided.
<nowiki>Disclaimer: [The following sources 19-22 are opinion based and are unreliable since it promotes the subject instead of being neutral</nowiki>] and
Sree Kerala Varma College has been involved in several controversies over the years, primarily related to student politics and campus activities.
The student union election held in November 2023 was contested. KSU candidate Sreekuttan Sivadasan was initially declared the winner by a narrow margin, but after an SFI request for a recount, the result was reversed in favour of the SFI candidate, prompting KSU allegations of malpractice and court action. The Kerala High Court noted discrepanciesâÂÂfour votes treated as valid in the original count were marked invalid during the recountâÂÂraised concerns about procedure, and ordered a fresh recount.
Subsequently, when the principal halted the recount without a written request, protests ensued, and the involvement of the Cochin Devaswom BoardâÂÂs president drew further scrutiny as students pressed for transparency and adherence to university rules.
In June 2019, a poster depicting Ayyappan in a distorted manner appeared on campus and prompted protests from several political groups. The SFI leadership, in whose name the poster was displayed, said it was an attempt by rivals to malign the organisation and removed it upon discovery.
In October 2021, posters with provocative language appeared on campus and drew public criticism; attributed to the SFI, they prompted debate about the nature of student activism and the content promoted on campus.