Stella Matutina (Morning Star) College of Education, with the motto “Attain Truth by the Path of Love”, was started by the Franciscan Missionary of Mary in 1961 for the formation and training of teachers and was handed over to the Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, Coimbatore in 1977. The college offers B.Ed., M.Ed., M. Phil, and PhD. Degree courses. The college had a humble beginning with 60 students and six teachers. The college has been given due approval by NCTE for a B.Ed intake of 200 students and an M.Ed intake of 50 students from 2015 – 16. SMCE accomplished 50 years (golden jubilee) of Academic Service in 2010 and 60 years (diamond jubilee) in 2021. “Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity”. Pioneering the cause of teacher education in Chennai city, the institution has grown in leaps and bounds and has imprinted a “Excellence in Teacher Preparation” mark. Stella Matutina is a college of Education with a difference. Our educational objectives are embedded and cemented in human and spiritual values. However, it continues to be an affiliated College of Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University. It is autonomous because it is free to frame its courses of study and adopt innovative teaching and evaluation methods.
The college was accredited at the five-star level by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in April 2000, re-accredited (second cycle) at Grade ‘A’ level in 2007, and re-accredited (Third Cycle) at ‘A’ Grade with CGPA: 3.48 in December 2014. National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) has enhanced the duration of the B.Ed and M.Ed. Courses for two academic years from 2015 – to 2016. The college creates an atmosphere wherein the curricular and co-curricular activities are sensitively balanced. Notably, the college is dedicated to the upliftment of young women, particularly those hailing from a rural background and achieved many laudable laurels in Teacher Education. Today the college is a living monument to the efficiency and zeal of the pioneers whose commitment has not only translated their dreams but transcended them. Bounded by a common ideal, the dedication and selfless service of the Secretaries and the Principals, the cooperation and support of the teaching and non-teaching staff, and the generation of students, past and present, have contributed to the progress of this institution.