Kollam: “My true wealth is the students I have taught.”
As Prof P O J Lebba remarks on reaching his 90th milestone today, He continues to receive birthday wishes from generations of former students and their children.

A respected figure in Kerala’s technical education sector and former principal of TKM College of Engineering, ‘Lebba Sir’, as he is fondly known, remains active and committed to his work.

Currently serving as the state president of the Green Energy Forum, an organisation spearheading initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, he continues to travel extensively, conducting environmental awareness sessions across schools and colleges. His passion is so infectious that he even educates well-wishers calling him on the unseen ecological footprint of everyday digital habits. With typical classroom clarity, he breaks down real-world data, such as the massive volumes of water and electricity consumed by data centres to route and store messages on platforms like WhatsApp, bringing the reality of our carbon footprint to life.

Prof Lebba made significant contributions to the growth of TKM College of Engineering and retired in 1992 after serving as principal for 16 years. After graduating from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET), and completing his MTech at an IIT, he joined TKM in the early 1960s as a lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering. He later served as head of the department before being appointed principal in 1976. During his tenure, He worked to raise academic standards, improve administrative efficiency and strengthen the college’s reputation.

An alumnus of Kerala’s premier engineering college, Prof Lebba continued to contribute to technical education in Kerala and played a role in establishing several engineering colleges. However, he has expressed concern over the growing number of such institutions. He believes that a college’s reputation should rest on the knowledge and expertise of its teachers rather than its infrastructure. He notes that students seek admission to leading universities abroad primarily for the quality of their faculty.

His former students fondly remember his meticulous planning, decisiveness, and visionary outlook. Many credit his emphasis on discipline and punctuality with shaping their professional and personal lives. His former students, now living across the world, continue to seek his advice, including on their children’s higher education.

Prof. Lebba resides at his home in Kollam with his wife, Fathima, and daughter, Haseena (former Deputy Director, LBS Centre). His son, Dr Ansari (retired Chief Scientist, NIIST), lives in Thiruvananthapuram.