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ST. ALOYSIUS COLLEGE: AN INTELLECTUAL APOSTOLATE
By Rev. Fr. Francis Serrao, SJ
The recent Post-Centenary Silver Jubilee of St. Aloysius College (SAC) was an occasion
for us to take stock of our Educational Apostolate: where we have come from, where
we are and where we wish to go.
I. Where We Have Come From
What started as a small mustard seed 125 years ago in the Coelho house, opposite
Bishop’s residence, has now grown into a city on the hill with classes from
1st standard to post graduation. Over the years, tremendous progress and growth
has taken place in all aspects, in both infrastructure and diversification of academic
courses.
II. Where We Are
Today, it would not be an exaggeration to say that St. Aloysius College can be called
a “Deemed University” (a categorization applied to top educational institutions
by India’s University Grants Commission). We have 19 Institutions on the main
Campus and the number goes to 20 if we include Harihar: we have just started a PUC
(Pre-University Course) College in Harihar, about 200 miles from Mangalore, as a
Post-Centenary Silver Jubilee Memorial outreach to provide a quality education to
those in need.
SAC today has over 9100 students and 503 staff. Of these, 36% of the students and
62% of the staff are Catholic. Only ten of the staff is Jesuits. Some of the Jesuits
hold simultaneous responsibility for two or three Institutions.
Due largely to the bold decision made by the Jesuits some years ago, SAC is co-educational.
Today, 23% of the students are girls at all levels (with the exception of High School)
of the educational ladder.
Thanks to the several successive Principals, and particularly Fr. Prashant Madtha,
SAC today offers a large number of new courses, making SAC relevant to rapidly changing
times and giving us the confidence to compete with foreign universities that are
beginning to enter the Indian academic world.
Schools and Programs Offered
Post Graduate Schools – Degree Programs
1. M. Sc. Bio-Technology
2. M. Sc. Bio-Information
3. Masters in Business Administration
4. Masters in Social Work
5. Masters in Computer Applications
6. Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management
7. Post-Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications
Primary School
The Primary School, which a few years ago was on the verge of extinction, is now
bubbling with new life because of a huge rush for admissions. This sharp turn for
the better is basically due to two reasons: first, the mad rush for English medium
education is dying out as people realize that it is not merely the medium but the
quality of education that matters, especially at the primary stage; and second,
our school provides free mid-day meals, free school uniform, fee concessions and
free bus facilities to all the deserving Kannada medium children.
Pre-University College
The Pre-University College has 16 sections in the 1st year and 14 in the 2nd year
with over 2,600 students. The Evening Pre-University College has 275 students, almost
all of whom are employed in small low-paying jobs in the city. Fr. Swebert is giving
his all to both Pre-University Colleges, spending almost 15 hours and more, daily.
Aloysian Boys Home (ABH), Industrial Training Institute (ITC) and Konkani Research
Institute (KRI)
The ABH has 115 young boys and girls, while the ITC has 132 students. These two
Institutions, along with KRI and PGDBM (Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management)
are SAC’s Centenary Memorials and now are in their Silver Jubilee year –
a concrete expression of our preferential option for the poor.
The KRI is our option for our language which is spoken by the majority of Christians
in South Kanara and yet did not have a research center worth its name. It was our
humble beginning to sustain the culture of coastal Konkani speaking people. The
PGDBM always had students who did not have a chance to do full-time management courses,
often due to financial constraints.
In this connection, it is significant to note that this year, we have disbursed
nearly
Rs.82, 00,000 (roughly $185,000) in scholarships, fee concessions, free uniforms
and mid-day meals, subsidized education at ITC and for the operating expenses of
ABH.
Outreach Missions – Anekal, Bijapur, Mundgod and Pannur
We are also helping poor young people from our outreach Missions in Anekal, Bijapur,
Mundgod (in Uttara Karnataka) and Pannur (in Raichur District) in their education.
And whenever time and money allows, we reach out to the needy Missions with a helping
hand. We receive excellent co-operation from the Missions, especially with opportunities
of exposure-cum-experience programs for our students.
SAC Campus – Existing
The existing SAC Campus is dotted with many new buildings. The new buildings completed
during the last five or six years include:
1. Science Block (Xavier Block)
2. Information Technology Block
3. Pre-University Block
4. Loyola Hall
5. Gents Hostel (Extension Block)
6. Ladies Hostel
7. Middle School Extension Block
8. Industrial Training Center (additional Block in progress)
9. New playground at Aloysian Boys Home
SAC Campus – New
We have plans for a New Campus of SAC, and have already purchased land near Ullal,
costing Rs. 1,25,00,000 (roughly $275,000). Most of the Post-Graduate programs and
hostels may eventually be located at this new campus.
Harihar Campus
With our Harihar Campus we have both a wonderful opportunity and a difficult challenge.
The whole community of SAC enthusiastically accepted the challenge – the golden
opportunity of bringing Jesuit education to an area where there was no Jesuit presence.
At present, Harihar Campus has 91 students doing PCMB (define), PCMC (define) and
Commerce studies and 12 lay staff, with a Jesuit as the Administrator.
SAC Values Spiritual Formation
SAC emphasizes all-round formation of its students and the spiritual formation is
part of that process and involves:
1. Faith Formation of Students – Including retreats for Catholic students,
prayer seminars for non-Catholics; and prayer seminars and enhancement of skills
programs for staff. These programs are conducted at the beginning of the academic
year. Basic Theology classes for Catholics and Value Education classes for non-Catholics
are being conducted with the help of our staff, assistant parish priests in the
city and other religious teachers;
2. On-going training of our staff by organizing seminars throughout the year;
3. Formation of students by providing counseling facility. This facility is made
available to the students in the high school as well as in the college through competent
counselors drawn from the staff and invited from outside.
Alumni Associations Playing Active Role
SAC has always received the alumni support for its growth and development. SAC alumni
playing a crucial supportive role include:
1. APNA (USA) – Aloysians and Partners in North America
2. SACAA – St. Aloysius College Alumni Association, Bangalore
3. SACAA – St. Aloysius College Alumni Association, Mangalore
4. SACAA – St. Aloysius College Alumni Association, Middle East
5. OBA – Old Boys Association (Middle and High School alumni), Mangalore
III. Where We Wish To Go
We are constantly thinking and planning for the continuous renewal and updating
of our educational service. The following are some of the plans on the anvil:
1. New Courses: M. Sc. -Counseling; M. Sc. -Applied Chemistry;
2. Harihar Campus: Plans for a large plot of land (20+ acres) with buildings, labs,
playgrounds, etc.;
3. Central Library for SAC Campus: It will be available as a resource center for
research students from all over the city;
4. B. Ed. College, CBSE College & Law College: Plans for the near future to
start these colleges;
5. New SAC Campus: New buildings in the SAC Campus at Ullal;
6. IAS, IPS, IFS Training Center: Plans for a Training Center for national competitive
careers in Indian Administrative, Police and Foreign Services;
7. Student Counseling Center: Plans to establish a counseling center located at
the main Campus with competent counselors and resource material;
8. New PUC Block: A new Pre-University Course College building replacing the old
Science Block;
9. Public Relations Office: To create a new office for the entire Institution, with
a well-qualified officer, supported with necessary infrastructure;
10. Museum & Archives: Better facilities and infrastructure for Museum and Archives;
11. Institute for Management and IT Programs: Moving them towards the “Deemed
University” status.
Outreach to the Less Privileged
We are always conscious of our obligation to provide opportunities to the less privileged
sections of our people, not only through admission policies, remedial courses, scholarship
schemes, etc. here at SAC and Harihar, but more especially in our Missions of Anekal,
Bijapur, Mundgod and Pannur. Accordingly, we have opted for a scheme of “twining”
with some of the institutions in these Missions, which cater to the poorest of the
poor, and the most deprived. Though this will mean additional burdens on our already
limited resources, we are convinced that this is a primary part of our character
and is a necessary and integral part of SAC.
Our Current Concerns
1. Current Jesuit ratio 1: 90 students;
2. Expansion vs. quality improvement;
3. Greater personal attention to each of our students – forming them into
men and women dedicated to others;
4. Inculcating social concerns in staff and students;
5. Formation of the staff: To convert mere teachers into formators and mere educators
into animators for creating creative, critical, analytical and free minds and compassionate,
conscientious and committed persons;
6. Judicious investment of resources;
7. Professional approach to governance;
8. Imbibing Ignatian Spirituality in staff and students;
9. Greater networking with the larger Aloysian family of alumni and parents;
10. Option for the poor in the face of increasing commercialization of education;
11. Immediate implementation of autonomy and hence creation of adequate infrastructure;
12. Lab of Applied Biology (LAB): Due to age, Fr. Leo D’Souza cannot continue
as a guide; the LAB will lose its affiliation if none is appointed in his place;
13. Financial implications of future plans – short-term and long-term;
a. Payment of Staff: Payment of salary to the teaching and non-teaching staff is
a heavy responsibility on the Management. We have paid Rs.3, 28,00,000 (roughly
$725,000) to 72% of the management staff during 2004-2005. We have made this payment
from the fees collected from the students. However, the State Government is progressively
withdrawing itself from higher education and therefore further withdrawal of grants
in the coming years is sure to happen. This would only add burden on the institutions
such as SAC, forcing them to pass the bulk of the cost to the students. This trend
would greatly affect us, who wish to express our solidarity with the poor by providing
to them equal opportunities in our institutions.
b. Care for the Poor: Greater consideration to the poor students also has a financial
angle;
c. New Infrastructure: New facilities to be provided in the campus will need a huge
amount to be invested in them.
Conclusion
This is a bird’s eye-view of what is happening at St. Aloysius College. Thanks
to the well-knit, hard-working and strongly committed team of Jesuits, we are able
to give quality service to the students, even though we are very few in number.
This is because all the Jesuits are doing twice or thrice more than they are capable
of handling and are going beyond their line of duty.
Fr. Leo D’Souza has become an Institution with rich experience, unbounded
enthusiasm and tremendous capacity to inspire all of us, who are trying to work
in his footsteps. Fathers Eugene, Swebert, Denzil, Celestine, Vincent, Richard,
Gilbert, Clifford and Melwyn are doing fantastic work as Directors of various Institutions
and Projects. They are the strong pillars of SAC. With their help, co-operation
and progressive thinking, SAC will certainly reach the pinnacle of success and excellence
with the guiding Ignatian Motto: “For the Greater Glory of God”.
Rev. Francis Serrao SJ is the current Rector of St. Aloysius College, Mangalore,
India
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