P. Chidambaram on Xavier’s institutes in India; Odisha should speed up establishment of Xavier University
February 7th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from his speech transcript in Business Standard.
It is in this dreary world of higher education in India that we have shining examples, such as St Xavier’s College. It was founded by the Society of Jesus. Long before Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr S Radhakrishnan, Dr Zakir Hussain, Dr Humayun Kabir and my good friend Shri Kapil Sibal, there was an intrepid soul named Fr H Depelchin. Along with six Belgian Jesuits, he arrived in Kolkata and founded the St Xavier’s College.
The college has been in the service of the nation for 150 years. Not only in Kolkata, but in many other parts of India, the Society of Jesus has rendered yeoman service to the cause of education. Its 153 high schools, 38 university colleges, 14 technical institutes and five business administration institutes teach, at any given time, over 230,000 students belonging to every section of the society. St Xavier’s alone has over 4,000 students.
Like every Jesuit educational institution, St Xavier’s College has an admission policy that is biased in favour of the poor, especially the socially and financially marginalised, and I commend the college on its sense of social responsibility. We are beholden to the Jesuits for the unwavering dedication, the sense of duty, and the strict discipline they bring to their work and to the institutions founded by them.
I passed through a Jesuit institution and I fondly remember the great teachers: Fr Murphy, Fr Sequira, Fr Coyle, Fr Lawrence Sundaram, Fr Amascua and Fr Yedanapally. It surprises me even today how so many of them could leave such an indelible impression in a period of barely one year.
We are still debating the norms and values that must prevail in an institution of higher learning, and especially the place of the non-government sector in providing higher education. I recognise and support the role of the private sector in higher education, but I am absolutely clear in my mind that the private sector in higher education ought not to mean private business in higher education. As far as I am aware, no great university in the world was established for the purpose of profit. I believe that some activities in a society must stand outside the world of profit and higher education, in my view, ranks first amongst such activities.
For over 150 years, the Society of Jesus has done just that in Kolkata, in Chennai and in many other towns and cities. For that and for many other blessings that they brought to India, we thank them and we salute them.
(Excerpts from Home Minister P Chidambaram‘s valedictory address at St Xavier’s College (Autonomous) in Kolkata on January 17, 2010)
The above is very relevant to the proposal of a Xavier University in Odisha. The Odisha government should expedite that proposal.
Entry Filed under: Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri- Khurda area (1),Private State Universities,Xavier University
3 Writeup
1. MOHAMMED A.ALAM | February 7th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
I myself passed my PGDM from XIMB,Bhubanesswar. I have also met friends from Xaviers College, Kolkata. Orissa Government should very actively consider the proposed university and give approval as soon as possible. The state youth will benefit from their presence.
2. Dillip Kumar Mohanty | February 9th, 2010 at 7:41 am
There should be a central campus of the university with 4 extension campuses at 4 corners of the state to have an equal growth
3. Dwivedy | February 9th, 2010 at 9:52 am
The congregation Society of Jesus has contributed immensely and should be encouraged to set-up educational institutes in the state, just like its counterparts at Vijaywada and Chennai. Low-cost education for the underpriviledged is something which naturally comes to this society.