St. Berchmans College in Changanassery and St. Thomas College in Pala, Kerala, will begin admitting female students to their government-aided undergraduate programs starting this academic year. This decision marks the end of their era as men’s-only institutions and is driven by a growing demand for co-educational settings and a decline in traditional course enrollments. Despite offering co-educational self-financing courses since the early 2000s, the colleges’ traditional programs remained male-exclusive until now. College authorities cited changing cultural sensitivities and the need to boost enrollment, particularly in life sciences and core subjects, as key reasons for this shift.