Arts and Commerce College, Ambarnath, which is popularly known as Kansai College its location being near Kansai Village, now part of Ambarnath was established in 1986 and started functioning since July 1986 initially with a strength of 65 students.

It has been named as P.D.Karkhanis College of Arts and Commerce as substantial donation of more than Rs.40 lakhs was given by Shri P. D.Karkhanis NRI, who migrated to U.S.A. for his career long ago. Late Shri P. D.Karkhanis was the student from the first batch of the school run by the management of the college, i.e. The Education Society Ambernath established in 1936.

Shri Bhausaheb Paranjpe, Gandhian philosopher and an eminent social worker with his associates established The Education Society at Ambarnath in 1936 as a charitable trust with luminaries Shri. Limaye Shri. Kolkar, Shri. Chhaya, Shri. Devasthali, Shri. Kunder. The Society is registered under Trust Act and as a society under Society's Act with the following objectives as laid down by the constitution of the society.

To provide educational opportunities right from pre-primary to higher education to the students of Ambernath and its vicinity.

To provide Physical, Industrial and Technical education.

To merge institutions having above objectives of education on suitable terms. 30 Shri Bhausaheb Paranjpe a profound visionary with a mission guided by Gandhian philosophy was the General Manager in Dharamsi Morarji Chemicals, Ambarnath, realising that majority of the citizens of Ambarnath could not afford education to their wards outside Ambamath, being economically poor and socially backward, it was crucial that these wards should get education in Ambarnath itself and with this sensitivity, he established the trust's high school known as Mahatma Gandhi Vidhyalaya, Ambarnath (west).

After experiencing the difficulties of crossing the railway line, the Society opened its classes in East side in 1971 and gradually converted into an independent school since 1978 named as Kansai High School which is now named as Bhausaheb Paranjape High School. Off late with the introduction of 10+2+3 pattern of education, +2 was started with all the three streams of Arts, Science and Commerce in the high school run by the Education Society Ambarnath. The agony was not over as students of Jr. College were finding it difficult to get admission in the +3 degree college in the vicinity prompting the need to start Degree College in Ambarnath. Accordingly during the Golden Jubilee of year of the Education Society in 1985, it was decided to seek permission for Degree College. The University was kind enough to realize the need and they recommended to the Government of Maharashtra to grant permission to the society to start a full-fledged Arts and Commerce college at Ambarnath. The Government of Maharashtra too apprehended the same and granted permission in June1986 and in the very month, the college came into its existence. Thus, the Education Society has made significant contribution in the cause of education and now it runs schools and college right from pre-primary section to the degree college as under:

Names	Year of establishment	Strength as on date
Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya, Ambarnath.	1936	2398
Bhausaheb Pranjape Vidyalaya, Ambarnath.	1979	1751
Kolkar School Ambarnath.	2000	2000
Adivasi Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Dolhara.	1997	1996
Andad Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Shahapur	1996	128
Tai Kolkar Jr. College, Ambarnath	1975	754
Damle Prathamik Marathi School, Ambarnath	1961	1130
Bhausaheb Paranjape Jr. College, Ambernath	1985	687
P. D. Karkhanis college of arts & Commerce, Ambernath	1986	1357

As per prevailing norms common to all colleges admissions to Degree College require minimum qualification of having passed 12th std.

With regard to admission process it has been observed that, parents prefer admission of their wards to Jr. College attached to the degree college rather than to Jr. Colleges attached to the high schools.

As a result of the above approach, talented students seek admission in Jr. colleges attached to the degree college and remaining move towards Jr. colleges attached to the secondary schools.

Now degree colleges with Jr. colleges are required to consider their own Jr. college students (in house students) for admission and only a few seats are available to students of Jr. colleges attached to Secondary schools from among them those securing very high marks get the privilege of joining their friends in the degree college and the remaining are required to join independent degree colleges.

Thus, for independent degree colleges, with no Jr. College, the nurturing centres are the Jr. Colleges attached to the secondary schools where students with comparatively poor academic performance are admitted.

The students of Jr. Colleges attached to secondary schools who could not get higher education opportunity in other colleges due to poor percentage seek admissions with us. However, gradually results of these colleges started improving and we are now getting students scoring above forty percentage from the same nurturing centers.