The school that blazed a unique trail in the field of education originated as an ‘ezhuththu pallikoodam’ with 27 students in 1893. The word ‘ezhuththu’ means writing and ‘pallikoodam’ means school in Malayalam. It was Shri. Pathiyil Kesavan Nair who transformed the traditional education centre into a formal school and shifted it into its current location in 1903. It had 4 classes, from 1st to 4th, and 4 teachers at that time. The school was transformed into a Higher Elementary school by Shri. Sethumadhavan Nair in 1952. In 1955, the school adopted the Elementary School Leaving Certificate (ESLC) examination. At that time, this certificate enabled a candidate to acquire a job in the State as primary school teacher, police constable or clerk in the Secretariat.The period of the school under the managership of Shri. Sethumadhavan Nair was the golden era of the school. The period also saw the contribution of some memorable teachers including Shri. Appu Achan Master, Shri Gopala Krishnan Master and Shri. Raghavan Master.

Following the untimely death of Shri. Sethumadhavan Nair, his wife Smt. Madanakalyani Amma took over as the manager. Shri. P. Ramankutty Master, Shri. A. Vasudevan Master and Smt. Kalyanikutty Teacher handled the post of Head Master of the school during this period.By the centennial year of 1993, the school boasted a strength of 1489 kids from 1st to 7th standard, with 33 divisions and 45 teachers. Shri. P. Muraleedharan, son of Shri. Sethumadhavan Nair was the Head Master of the school at that time, having taken that responsibility in 1990. A new auditorium with a seating capacity of a thousand people was built to mark the centenary year with the contributions from well wishers in the local community and those who were farther away. That memorable year also saw Shri. P. Muraleedharan bagging the best teacher award at the state level. He was further felicitated by the best teacher award at the national level in September 2000.

The school focussed not only in academic curriculum, but the holistic growth of the children by training them in arts, crafts and other extracurricular activities. It was a consistent leader in school youth festivals in these areas. The school continued its journey over the years, evolving with the changes in the educational system by introducing English medium teaching, computer science training etc. In 2012, the school name was prefixed with PKM to immortalize the fact that it is a memorial to its founder Shri. Pathiyil Kesavan Nair. Smt. Pathiyil Rugmani was the manager for the period 2017-2020. The year 2018 saw the school reaching the milestone of its 125th anniversary, when the foundation was laid for a new multi-storey building with every classroom in that building being a ‘smart classroom’.