Rajagiri is a part of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI), an indigenous Syrian Catholic religious congregation founded in 1831.
Nowadays, Rajagiri is synonymous with Sacred Heart Province of the CMI congregation and its many social and educational institutions.
The successes of modern education in India, during and after the British colonial era, can in many cases be traced to the initiatives of various Christian missionaries.
The Rajagiri provincial initiated many social welfare and development programs for the province, and these were first based from their establishments for higher learning.
The Rajagiri vidyapeetham is envisaged as a wide network of institutions and centers providing quality education from the pre-primary level to doctoral recognition through specialised and super-specialised study, and seeking alternatives to the conventional mainstream efforts.
This gives Rajagiri the privilege to exercise the special rights and safeguards provided to minorities by the Constitution of India.
[30] The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), through the Rajagiri Educational Charitable Trust (RECT) and Rajagiri School of Engineering & Technology, provides post graduate level courses and training to professionals in the industry and faculty in academia.
Beginning with the first batch of undergraduates and postgraduate students, RSET and RSOM have both recorded high industry placement.
[32][33] RSET has been ranked first in the state of Kerala by the REC Calicut Alumni Association (RECCA) in the category of self-financing colleges.