Media Release
Bengaluru, Nov 20: In an effort to take a step towards becoming a ‘Deemed-to-be’ University, St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), conducted a two day workshop on “Formation of a Jesuit University with a difference” for its staff members along with the other Jesuit Colleges of Karnataka on November 17 and 18.
The college is coming on the heels of an A++ rating by the NAAC accreditation, scoring a CGPA of 3.79 out of 4, the highest in the country among the autonomous colleges in the fourth cycle of NAAC accreditation.
At the workshop, a slew of eminent academicians from various colleges across South India spoke about the various issues confronting higher education today. They offered insights into the probable challenges of becoming a University and offered advice for the road ahead.
Dr Babu Matthew, former registrar and faculty, National Law School of India, urged the professors consider the context in which higher education is imparted. “We cannot understand our context without engaging with what is happening at a global level.” He added that a teacher must constantly update himself with world events, make interdisciplinary a cornerstone of teaching methodology, and constantly upgrade the curriculum to stay relevant.
Fr Dr Ignacimuthu, former vice-chancellor, University of Madras and Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, touched upon the various tenets of Jesuit education and said it seeks to ‘discover, shape, renew and promote human wisdom’. He added that students must be taught to find joy in learning and develop a thirst for greater and deeper knowledge.
Fr Joye James, rector and manager, Loyola College of Social Sciences, Trivandrum said that contemporary education merely deals with cognitive reality, when it should be dealing with social change. He cited several examples from the wealth of his experiences in Kerala, and said extension activities and social justice is what truly uplifts students, not merely a transfer of bookish knowledge.
Other speakers included Dr M G Sethuraman from Gandhigram Rural Institute, Tamil Nadu, Dr Sandeep Shastri, pro vice-chancellor, Jain University, and Dr Aloysius H Sequeira, National Institute of Technology, Karnataka, Surathkal. They highlighted on the need for a decentralized society in a deemed to be university system and the actual facts behind the formation and expectation of such universities in the near future. “It takes years to formulate a vision, mission goals and objectives that are resourcefully applied to form an institution”, said Dr Aloysius H Sequeira.