The College was founded in 1911 by His Highness Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, Maharaja of Travancore and was known as 'The Maharaja's Training College'. This Mother Teacher Education Institution in Kerala, the second in Madras province was established on the basis of recommendations of the Hunter Commission Report 1882. The college was affiliated to Madras University and imparted training for Graduate and Undergraduate teachers. The College was established at par, with International standards. Dr. G.F. Clark from London University was the founder Principal. The College was then affiliated to Travancore University in 1937 and later to the University of Kerala in 1957. The college celebrated its Platinum Jubilee in 1986. The College was upgraded to the status of Govt. College of Teacher Education in 1994 and was entrusted with the dual responsibilities of providing resource support to secondary education and functioning as a model teacher education institution in the region. The College was elevated to status of a Research Centre in Education in 2006 by the University of Kerala. The institution started publishing a bi-annual educational journal 'The GCTE Journal of Research and Extension in Education' from January 2006 and it has been recognized by universities like Kerala, Calicut and Kannur. The College has been accredited by NAAC with 'B' Grade during 2007-08. The B. Ed Course in Commerce has been sanctioned by the Govt. in Nov 2008.
The college now offers 11 optional subjects in B. Ed (English, Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Physical Science, Natural Science, Mathematics, Social Science, Geography and Commerce). The M. Ed course with 35 intake was sanctioned by NCTE. The college was celebrated its Centenary in 2011-12.
