A first-year chemistry student, Munira, whispers: “Vijayan, sir. And also, a fisherman’s widow named Sarasu from 1968. I never met her. But I passed my entrance exam because she paid for my mother’s teacher.”
The endowment, once nearly wiped out in the 1930s Depression, is now robust—thanks to a 1994 alumni initiative that created a modern equity fund. Yet the college refuses to accept any government or corporate grant that carries a branding condition. rex vijayan scholarship college established 1870s
By Ananya S. Narayan
Then the bell rings again. And for the 152nd year, the granite walls of Rex Vijayan Scholarship College open their doors—not to the wealthy, but to the worthy. But I passed my entrance exam because she
His mandate was stark: “No boy or girl from this taluk shall be turned away for want of a rupee. Not now. Not in a hundred years.” Narayan Then the bell rings again
Every student accepted into the college is automatically a scholar. But in return, each scholar signs a “Pledge of Return” (digitized since 1998, but originally a palm-leaf contract). The pledge is not a bond; it is a promise. Upon graduation, the student agrees to sponsor the education of one future student from their home village. This creates an unbroken chain of patronage that has, to date, funded over 40,000 graduates.