Kolkata: St Xavier’s College -one of the country’s most illustrious brands from the house of Jesuits -has started a campus in Mizoram.The college will be administered by the Jesuit order’s Darjeeling province, which is the headquarters of the northeastern outfits of the order.
St Xavier’s University Kolkata, which is the oldest educational institution of the Jesuits, will offer academic help to the new college.
The Bishop of Aizawl, the head of the Catholic church in Mizoram, had requested Jesuits to start a college in the state to give a boost to higher education. This is the first Jesuit college in Mizoram, The Times of India reported.
“The college was inaugurated on July 17. It has started inducting students in both its plus two and undergraduate sections,” said Father Daniel Bara, principal of the college. To start with, there are seven humanities courses in the UG level and both humanities and commerce options at the plus two level.Each UG course will take 60 students and admissions have already started. From next year onwards, the science stream will also start.
“At the moment, we have humanities subjects like Mizo, English, history, sociology, political science, psychology and education. We are affiliated to the Mizoram University and students will be able to take core (honours) courses. UGC recognition is awaited,” Father Daniel said.
The science stream will have both pure science and bio sciences, he added. Mizoram University is a central university.
The college has come up at Lengpui in Aizawl on a 29acre plot that was given to the Jesuits by the bishop against a token payment.The foundation stone was laid in November and within eight months the first part of the college has become operational. “We will depend on St Xavier’s Kolkata for regular student-teacher exchange programmes,” Father Daniel added.
A total of 24 faculty members have been selected through a competitive selection process, of whom 11 have already joined.
“They are all born in Mizoram but educated in the country’s top universities like JNU, DU, Mumbai University, Madras University and Lucknow University,” Father Daniel added.