St Thomas College, Palai Facilities Details: Hostel, Campus, Infrastructure, Library, Canteen

The college has a Christu Raj Hostel (C R) a sprawling three-story structure located at the east end of the college campus on the banks of the Meenachil. Founded in 1953, C R has 85 double occupancy rooms for men where 150 undergraduate students and 20 postgraduate students may be accommodated. C R is a unit of St Thomas College Pala Educational Trust and it enjoys autonomy concerning its internal administration under the overall supervision of the Board of Trustees. The hostel is administered by a warden appointed by the Bishop of Palai and an assistant warden and a resident tutor assist him.

The college has a Christu Raj Hostel (C R) a sprawling three-story structure located at the east end of the college campus on the banks of the Meenachil. Founded in 1953, C R has 85 double occupancy rooms for men where 150 undergraduate students and 20 postgraduate students may be accommodated. C R is a unit of St Thomas College Pala Educational Trust and it enjoys autonomy concerning its internal administration under the overall supervision of the Board of Trustees. The hostel is administered by a warden appointed by the Bishop of Palai and he is assisted by an assistant warden and a resident tutor.

The College Canteen provides the students of the college breakfast, lunch, and Dinner at a concessional rate. The College Store provides the students the facility to purchase books, stationery, and reprography. The canteen is managed by the Co-operative Society with teachers, non-teaching staff, and students as members.

The college's new Library block built on 4 floors has over 900268 books in various languages like English, Hindi, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Syriac, German, French, Portuguese, etc. Each year a considerable number of books are added to the library. In addition to the books, over 71 journals, 132 periodicals, and 23 newspapers are also available in the library. We have our software for the library. The well-stocked spacious modern library, 24-hour broadband internet connectivity at a speed of 100 Mbps, and 4000 + e-journals (3828 Nos) and 80409 E-books create the most conducive ambiance for research. Besides, many Departments have Department libraries from where students can borrow books. Altogether, the college houses over one lakh books on the campus. 

The college has sports facilities for all students. The Multipurpose training hall can accommodate two thousand people and host conferences or ceremonies that need to accommodate large groups in a graceful and dignified setting. State-of-the-art wooden flooring (tongue and groove system) is ideal for the conduct of competitions in badminton, basketball, Table tennis, Volleyball, Netball, etc. It has sufficient space to lay six badminton courts at a time.

The College has a few computer labs on the campus. In addition to the two Central labs, the departments of Statistics, Biostatistics, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Botany, etc maintain computer labs of their own. The central lab facilities are used for running various VET Courses and Graphic designing. Apart from this, students are provided with facilities for the study of computer applications included in the regular syllabus and to use the internet for research and project work.

The college is a pioneer college to start an open gymnasium where students can spend their time fitness all throughout the day, especially during their free hours. It is also open to members of the general public. Multiple instruments and machines which can brave the weather and can be used in any season attract all interested in fostering health.   

College Main Auditorium, Bishop Vayalil Hall, St. Joseph’s Hall, Kureethadom Hall, Cardinal Tisserant Hall, and A2 5 are the main halls to enable the effective conduct of programs, seminars, conferences, etc. All these halls are equipped with state-of-the-art of facilities including high-quality acoustics.

The college has a departmental-based laboratory facility for the students.

The health club of the college has a number of machines to develop the physique and health of the students of the college. The College has identified psychosomatic wellness promotion as its best practice. Diverse amenities are provided to promote the wellness of the students.

College Staff Co-Operative Society, and South Indian Bank, Arunapuram Branch are functioning on the campus. They take care of all the banking and financial needs of everyone associated with this College.

The college has guest house/waiting room facilities for visiting faculty and student family members.

The college has an Alumni Association an active organization that aims at the inculcation of intimate fellowship and promotion of frequent interactions among the former students of the College. Besides this, each department has its own Alumni Forum. Founded on 11th November 1999, the College Alumni Association has organized a wide variety of programs.

St. Thomas is the premier college in Kerala to have a swimming pool. Over time the old swimming pool was demolished and a new swimming pool of Olympic standard with a size of 50x 21x1.5 m., was inaugurated in 2016. It offers training to the swimmers, training in swimming as a life-saving skill to the students of the college and the students of nearby schools and it also allows the members of the community to make use of the facility.

The college has a convenience store facility for students. (like stationery, cosmetics, Photostat services, etc.)