Mission Statement
The chief objective of the college is to provide quality education at an affordable cost to the students of the Udupi region which has a special socio economic and cultural background.

The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College, the first College of the Udupi District was started in the year 1949 by Dr. T.M.A. Pai as a tribute to the Mahatma who had wrested independence from the colonial rulers and became a martyr for the cause of national integration.  Dr. Pai, a man of great vision and practical wisdom, mustered the support of the enlightened citizens of Udupi to start an institution of higher education in this part of the coastal region of Karnataka to enable the youth here to find a means of spiritual and economic development.  And truly in the course of the 54 years of its existence it has empowered thousands of young men and women to become independent in the true sense of the term.  They were days when women had hardly any scope for higher education and the college encountered a hurdle from the Madras University to which it has sought affiliation against the admission of women into the college and the matter had to be referred to the Madras High Court.  The matter was settled ultimately with the intervention of Smt. Indira Gandhi.  The visit of Smt. Indira Gandhi to the college in the year 1960 as the President of the Indian National Congress was an occasion when the college could express its gratitude to her for this gesture which has to the revolution in the composition of the student population in the college with the majority of them being girls.

The College began functioning in a humble building of an elementary School in the heart of the town which was kept at the disposal of the nascent college by the School management.  The public of Udupi rallied behind Dr. Pai to offer Shramadan to put up the new building of the college in the 50 acre land gifted by the Government of Karnataka  at the Sagri hills which was a piece of land dotted by brushwood, inviting wild animals by night.    The First building of college which today is the oldest building in the campus housed in those days class rooms, laboratories, library, college office and even the hostel.  The development of the college coincides with the building of  several buildings on this campus which dot this vast area.

The College started as an Intermediate Arts, Science and Commerce college, was shifted to the new campus in the year 1951.  It became a Degree College with the introduction of the BA Degree Course in 1952 and soon the B.Com Degree course was introduced a couple of years later.  With the reorganization of the States in 1956 the college came under the fold of Karnatak University, Dharwar and the B.Sc. Degree course was introduced. Two years later, the College got affiliated to Mysore University.  Since 1980, when Mangalore University came into existence, the College has been one of its constituents.

To cope with the increasing number of courses and increasing student-strength, new buildings were added in the campus, the first ones with the help of the grants from the University Grants Commission.  The following were built in a chronological sequence.  The Old Library Building which was demolished in 1999 to make room for a new more spacious building, the Hostels for Boys and Girls, Ravindra Mantapa – an  auditorium, which has been the main venue of the multiple students’ activities over the years, Madhava Pai Vijnana Mandira, the first Science Wing which houses today the Departments of Botany, Zoology, Chemistry and Home Science., The Commerce wing which got incorporated into the New Administrative Wing Madhava Raksha, decades later, Staff Quarters which increased in number from time to time, Vikrama Shila, the new Science Wing which today houses the Department of Physics and Statistics, Parvathi Nilaya, the Women’s Waiting Hall which was to commemorate the Silver Jubilee in 1974, the Nalanda Building which houses the Syndicate Bank, the RRC Archives, the Govind Pai Museum and the Tulu Lexicon Projects Offices the Govind Pai Samshodhana Kendra, Annapoorna the College Canteen, the Old Computer Science Wing which today houses the MGM Pre-University College, Madhava Raksha, the new administrative building which was inaugurated in 1998  on the occasion of the Birth Centenary of the founder Dr. TMA Pai.  The new Library Building inaugurated in 2002 marked the celebration of the Golden Jubilee in Feb. 2000.  The College has very extensive playgrounds with  a well equipped sports complex and a new multi-gym which have been recently added,  and the Ladies’ Hostel has been expanded, Ravindra Mantapa the Auditorium was  renovated, the New Auditorium Gitanjali was added and the open air Auditorium Muddana Mantapa has provided opportunities for the performance of modern plays like the ones directed by B.V. Karanth theatre director of national fame with the participation of college boys and staff in the year of the Silver Jubilee.  These developments took place under the successive principals mainly the founder Principal Prof. H. Sunder Rao,  known as Shakespeare Sunder Rao and  Prof. K.S. Haridas Bhat, who made it a truly cultural complex.

New courses of study at the Degree level and undergraduate level have been introduced from to time, to cater to the needs of the students: the Certificate and Diploma Courses in German in 1968, Major Kannada, Major English(1958), Home Science(1985), Statistics(1958) Ph.D. (1974), Computer Science(1988), Vocational B.Com. (1996), A P.G. Diploma in Computer Science (2000)  etc.  The excellent infrastructure was provided from time to time by a very enlightened management consisting of stalwarts like Sri T.A. Pai, Sri T. Ramesh Pai, Dr. Mohandas Pai, Sri K.K. Pai and many others. 

The College has had generations of brilliant teachers who were selected solely on the basis of merit who have been responsible for the sound academic tradition of the college.  It was the excellent teaching and personal guidance provided by these teachers that brought generations of students getting ranks in the University examinations year after year.  Regular teaching programs, remedial teaching, personal guidance, good teaching aids like charts and maps and slides were used to support class room lecture.  Discussions with students, group discussions, student seminars, have been held whenever opportunities were available.  Modern teaching aids like overhead projectors, slide projectors, cassette recorders, of late a LCD projector, have been used as support to teaching.  Recently, under the guidelines of the UGC, self-assessment by teachers and student-assessment of teachers have been administered to get adequate feed-back for teaching programs.  Our teachers have been Members of the Board of Studies and thus individually steered revision and up-gradation of syllabi in various subjects.  Many of them have also utilized FIP programs and acquired higher qualifications like M. Phil and Ph.D.

It is the promotion of the students’ interest that has been at the centre of all programs  in the college.  Adequate stock of books in the library, which is one of the largest in the state, facilitates the habit of reading among students.  The New Library building, built and equipped on modern lines, has facilities for home-lending of books, on the spot reference and a card catalogue system for easy location of books and separate spacious reading rooms for boys, girls and staff members.  The College has obtained in the past and more recently from the UGC under the COSIP Scheme, grants to promote research activities by students.  Students have taken advantage of these projects and equipped themselves to take up more ambitious projects at higher levels of study. The Ravindra Mantap is the venue of many student activities which are organized under the auspices of the Students Welfare Council and allied organizations like the Science Club, HRD, Study Circle, Commerce Club, IT Club,  Arts Club.  Lectures by eminent speakers, discussion, debates, intercollegiate competitions, dramatic and musical programs etc. give multiple opportunities to students to improve their skills in various fields like elocution, oratory, play acting, singing etc.  This helps overall development of the students’ personality.  The various clubs are a training ground for students in organizing various programs.  The students’ activities culminate in the Annual days of various sections which are characterized by a variety of programs by students.  A large numbers of donors have instituted scholarships and prizes which are given away on these important occasions. This is also an occasion to honor distinguished students in the sports & Games, academics and service.

The College has become a centre of informal education with many extension programs organized for the benefit of students.   The NSS Wing of the college, with a separate wing for lady students has a history of various service activities. Feeding the poor on the Martyr’s day was in practice for several decades.  Relief works on occasions like famines and floods have been undertaken by the College NSS.  Free Eye camps were organized in collaboration with the Rotary Club and KMC Manipal.   Blood Donation Camps, Visit to the local Orphanages and hospitals are undertaken often.  Cleaning the campus, afforestation, maintaining the Indrali Crematorium are some other programs conducted by the College NSS.  The NCC also has an equally illustrious history.  Army Wings, Naval Wings have imparted regular training and equipped students for military service in emergencies.  Many of them have become distinguished officers.  Every year,  some of our NCC cadets participate in the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi.  The most recent name to be mentioned is Miss Mishal Allam, who had the honor of being selected to visit Vietnam on a youth exchange program.  The Rangers’ Unit has been a recent unit organizing activities for selected lady students.  A Career Guidance Unit helps to keep students informed about opportunities for employment.  The Annual Vadiraja and Kanakadasa Music Program exposes students to the beneficial effect of devotional music and spiritual discourses by learned scholars.  Inter District dramatic competitions, Debates, Discourses on Gandhian Thought, are regular features of the activities in the college year after year. The Mega festivals like Megabytes, Spectra, Art Chimes, Comfest are great events in which the creative and organizational skills of students are harnessed to the advantage of students.  The College promotes literary activities of students by means of the College Wall Magazine called Sagri Sentinel and the College Annual.

The Rashtrakavi Govind Pai Samshodhana Kendra and the Regional Resources Centre for Folk Performing arts have raised the status of the college with a research orientation.  The publication of the Tulu Lexicon and the mega volume of the research articles by poet Laureate Govind Pai have been the most spectacular achievements of this wing. The Yakshagana Kendra is a training school imparting training to young people in traditional Yakshagana dance and music.

Thus the College has under the guidance of an enlightened management, ushered in a tradition of all round development of the personality of the generations of students, by ensuring adequate infra structural facilities, achieving academic excellence with the selection of competent teachers, regular teaching programs, periodic exercise of assessment and evaluation, suitable remedial work and providing myriad opportunities for extracurricular activities in the field of sports and games, athletics, acting, dance, fine arts, handicrafts, home management, social service, defence training, creative writing, elocution, debate, interaction with the public, organizational programs etc.  With this background the college looks forward to further expansion both vertically and horizontally.  It is hoped that with the attaining of an autonomous status – for which the college has already applied – it will acquire the necessary freedom required for innovative programs at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.  There are plans for additional infra structural facilities like an additional wing in the Ladies’ Hostel, renovated open air auditorium etc. and new student-oriented services.