By Matters India Reporter
Mumbai, November 27, 2019: This year St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, celebrates 150 years since its inception. In this sesquicentennial year, one of the many events scheduled was a research seminar on Jesuit initiatives in higher education in South Asia.
The seminar was held on Nov 20 – 21, in the college itself.
Jesuits the world over have adopted an integrated and equitable approach to education in general and higher education in particular.
The seminar intended to highlight the efforts of Jesuits from the 16th century till today in imparting quality formation at the highest levels of institutionalized or formal education in South Asia.
General themes covered in the seminar were the origins of Jesuit higher education in South Asia, their historical contribution to the humanities as well as to social and natural scientific study and research, the starting of various new professional colleges in the areas of management, communication, engineering and law.
The historical development of higher educational institutions in four major mission areas was presented: the Madura, Malabar, Bengal and Bombay Missions. Contemporary developments of attaining autonomy and university status were also discussed.
The chief guest was Father Roland Coelho, Jesuit Provincial of the Goa Province, and the keynote speaker was Jesuit Father S. Ignacimuthu, former principal of Loyola College and former Vice-Chancellor of Madras University.
Father Ignacimuthu highlighted several new academic programmes first begun in one Jesuit institution or another, which were then adopted by other institutions in the University, the State and across the nation.
The dynamics of the seminar were historical, critical and forward-looking. While it was felt important to record historical developments regarding significant initiatives by Jesuits in higher education, the impact of such education also needs to be evaluated.
Areas of concern which were highlighted in the seminar included the importance of providing a holistic and not just a professional education, the need to continue to make educational opportunities accessible to all—especially to first-generation learners, the need to widen horizons of experience and inclusion among staff and students, personal accompaniment of students and the need to update courses and start relevant ones. The need to enhance networking and collaboration between various Jesuit institutions across the country and the world was stressed.
The seminar was coordinated by Dr. Joan Dias, the Director of the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Jesuit Father Savio Abreu, former director of the Xavier Centre for Historical Research, Porvorim, Goa, and the Rector of St. Xavier’s College, Jesuit Father Keith D’Souza.