The Sangha College was originally established in 1929 (2472 BE) by Prince Phetsarath and Somdet Phra Loukeo Outhen Sakda, Supreme Patriarch of the Lao sangha and Governor of Vientiane. Known as the Pariyatti Dhamma School, it sought to address the needs of monks who wanted to teach Pali or conduct research and therefore required a higher level of study than was currently available in temples. Initially located in the vicinity of the Presidential Palace, the school taught Dhamma, Vinaya, Pali, the lives of the Buddha, tham script, Lao and Khmer languages and mathematics and had 150 students and four teachers. During the 1930s, when Maha Sila Viravongs was Director of the School, a palm leaf manuscript library was established within the school, and a Buddhist art school was also set up within the grounds of Wat Chanthaburi. A Luang Prabang branch was also opened in 1932 (2475). In 1950 (2493) the school was moved to Wat Sithane Neua under the direction of the Most Venerable Phra Achan Bouakham Voraphet. Following independence in 1953 (2496) the school was placed under the Ministry of Cults, moved to Wat Ong Tu and renamed the Pali Institute. Here it accepted all Buddhist monks and novices who had graduated from high school to study for a four-year programme known as the Preparatory Class, which included additional subjects such as geography, history and French. In 1967 (2510) the Pali Institute was transferred to the responsibility of the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and renamed the Buddhist Educational Institute. With two Thai teachers, one French teacher, one English teacher and one Indian teacher, it now also offered pedagogical studies, western philosophy, Indian philosophy and other general religions. After the revolution in 1976 (2519) the Institute began teaching a six-year Higher Diploma programme equivalent to a Bachelors degree and also became a Primary and Middle Teacher Training School under the Department of Vocational and Teacher Training of the Ministry of Education. In 1996 (2539) the Institute was renamed the Sangha College and organised into two Faculties: the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts. Since that time it has operated under the Ministry of Education, the Lao Buddhist Fellowship Organisation and the Lao Front for National Construction. Students come from all over the country to study at the College.