The state of Kerala was formed in 1956. In the subsequent election to the Kerala legislative assembly led to the formation of first Communist ministry in Kerala under the leadership of Com. E M Sankaran Namboothirippadu(Popularly known as EMS). At that time there were no common service rules and pay scales for the Govt. College Teachers of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. The UGC scale proposed by the University Education Commission under the chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was not implemented in Kerala. So there was a need to form an all Kerala Association for the Govt. College Teachers to work for the common cause of the teachers and to solve the service issues in the collegiate education sector. At that time there was an organisation named ‘Travancore University Teachers’ Association’ for college teachers in Thiruvananthapuram. Its leaders thought about the formation of an all Kerala Association. An adhoc committee was formed under Sri. K.M. Sakkaria (Faculty, University College), as convenor. The committee decided to conduct an all-Kerala meeting of delegates from among Govt. College Teachers. In the meeting conducted at University College, Thiruvananthapuram on 22nd October 1958 the “Association of Kerala Govt. College Teachers” (AKGCT) was formed. The meeting was presided by Dr.P.K.Narayanapillai. Prof. V. Gopalan Nair and Dr. M. Manuel were elected as the first President and Secretary of AKGCT respectively. The association got government registration on 1st June 1960 (Reg. No. 42/1960 recognised as per GO(MS) No. 387 Public Service ‘D’Department).
For about two decades AKGCT functioned as an organisation to submit petitions before the government to rectify the grievances of teachers. There were no continuous organisational work and annual conferences. It’s members were elected to the senate of Kerala University since 1963. After the emergency period, AKGCT contested in the senate and syndicate elections at Calicut University and won many seats. The annual conference held at University College in 1969 adopted the official flag (the present white flag) of AKGCT. When the government appointed Prof. N.T. Madhavan Nambiar of Zamorin’s (Aided) College as principal of Kasargode Govt. College to avoid a deadlock with the management, AKGCT approached the court. It was the first court case of the organisation. Adv. V.R. Krishna Iyyar and Barister Nambiar appeared the High Court and Supreme Court respectively on behalf of AKGCT. The result was in favour of AKGCT and the appointment was canceled. It became an eye opener to the government. And they realised that the postings of Govt. and Aided Colleges are different and cannot be mixed for political reasons.
In 1977 AKGCT decided to join hands with All Kerala Private College Teachers’ Association (AKPCTA) for direct protest to achieve the demands of College teachers. Thus AKGCT was gradually moving towards the trade union concept of other service organisations. A group of teachers, who thought that the direct protest and strike of college teachers will harm their social status, tried to deviate from the organisation. But most of the teachers were rallied under the banner of AKGCT with a progressive social and educational vision of Kerala. On 26th November 1977, the College teachers participated in large numbers for a rally in front of the Kerala Secretariat and submitted a memorandum to the government. It was signed by almost all the college teachers and the demand was the implementation of 3rd UGC pay scale in Kerala. In 1978, the teachers decided to boycott university examinations. From there onwards AKGCT members had to face several actions and black laws from the part of the government. The organisation faced it courageously with the support of other progressive service organisations. In 1979, AKGCT became a partner of Federation of State Employees and Teachers’ Organisations (FSETO) along with AKPCTA and Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) from the Higher Education sector. Thus the organisation became a constituent partner of a federation, which works for the common interest of the service sectors and the larger sections of the society. On 28th February 1979, state employees and teachers (including college and university teachers) conducted a huge rally in Trivandrum demanding service benefits from the government. One of the demands was the implementation of UGC scales for College and University teachers. From there onwards AKGCT became the only organisation of Kerala Government. College Teachers to fight for their rights and to enhance quality in Higher Education. Now AKGCT is also working as a constituent partner of All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations (AIFUCTO) at National level.