St. Xavier's College, Kolkata

St. Xavier's College, Kolkata
সেন্ট জেভিয়ার্স কলেজ, কলকাতা

College Logo
Latin: Collegium Sancti Xaverii
Motto Nihil Ultra (Latin)
Motto in English
 Nothing Beyond
Type Private
Established 16 January 1860 (16 January 1860)
Founder Fr. Henri Depelchin S.J.
Religious affiliation
 Jesuit (Roman Catholic)
Academic affiliation
 University of Calcutta
Rector Fr. Dr. Dominic Savio S.J.[1]
Principal Fr. Dr. John Felix Raj S.J.[1]
Location 30, Mother Teresa Sarani, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
22°32′54″N 88°21′21″E / 22.54837°N 88.35596°E / 22.54837; 88.35596Coordinates: 22°32′54″N 88°21′21″E / 22.54837°N 88.35596°E / 22.54837; 88.35596
Campus Urban
Colours Blue and White          
Nickname Xaverian
Website www.sxccal.edu

St. Xavier's College is a private, co-educational college located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Founded in 1860 by Fr. Henri Depelchin S.J., it is named after St. Francis Xavier, a Navarre Jesuit of the 16th century, who ministered in India. In 2006, it became the first autonomous college in West Bengal, India,[2] and is affiliated to the University of Calcutta. Currently, the college offers Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees, Ph.D.s, Diplomas and certificates.

St. Xavier's College has consistently been ranked by private and government organizations as one of the top institutes in India. It became a "College with Potential for Excellence" in 2006, a "College of Excellence" in 2014 and has been recognised as a "College with a Special Heritage Status" in 2015. Presently, St. Xavier's College has been ranked the best in the country and has been marked with the highest A++ grade (3.77/4.00 CGPA) under the assessment done in 2017 by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. It has been ranked 6th in India under another independent assessment done by the National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Human Resource Development, in 2017.

Another sister university, St. Xavier's University, Kolkata has been created through the St. Xavier's University Bill passed on 16 December 2016, by the state assembly of West Bengal.[3] But the St. Xavier's College will as of now be still kept as an autonomous college under the Calcutta University. The University is supposed to function as a separate entity, as the Father Principal Felix Raj and the Jesuit Society plan to nurture the university and bring it up to the status St. Xavier's College has reached. The University will add new courses including an MBA.

History

The 1905 Crest remains unchanged
The Goethals library
St. Xavier's College Kolkata stamp released by the Indian post office in 1985

The college was founded in 1860 by the Jesuits, an all-male Catholic religious order formed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The college is named after Francis Xavier, the 16th century Jesuit saint from Navarre, north of Spain. The founder of the college is Fr. Henri Depelchin, who oversaw most of the ground work during the foundation years.[4]

Sans Souci Theatre

Sans Souci Theatre occupied 30 Park Street (now Mother Teresa Sarani), Kolkata-700016, until a fire in 1843 burnt it to the ground. The site was bought by 7 Belgian Jesuits. It is here that the present day campus stands tall.[5]

Foundation Years

The present site of the college at 30, Park Street (Mother Teresa Sarani) is an amalgamation of numbers 10 and 11 of Park Street. Premise number 11 was bought for Rs 45,000.00 by Fr. Depelchin with generous donations from the Anglo-Indians and help from the home Jesuit Province of Belgium. Park street is a landmark street in the heart of Kolkata, a melting pot of its diverse cultural, culinary, social, and intellectual milieu.

The college opened with 30 students. Two years later, in 1862, it got affiliated to the Calcutta University. However, there was a paucity of funds for expansion work in terms of classrooms and to accommodate the Jesuits fathers. So in 1864 the Rector used the newspapers to appeal to the public of Calcutta for assistance and received a magnanimous response from well-wishers in the city. Also, Jesuit Father Henri Depelchin and his assistant Bro. Koppes, the architect of the new school, went around personally collecting funds. The present, imposing, five-storied building took 6 years to build, 1934 to 1940, at a cost of Rs 9 lakhs, which came from donations from the people of Calcutta, assistance from Belgium, and generous rental fees from the U.S. army that occupied the building during the Second World War.[6][7] Expansion of the college has been a ceaseless effort and a campus in Salt Lake City, Kolkata, is on the way, along with a second boys' hostel not far from the existing one.

Goethals Library

The Goethals library, situated above the College Chapel, houses some of the oldest periodicals, journals, and books. The College received these treasures in 1908 from the Archbishop of Calcutta, Paul Goethals, S.J. These well-preserved treasures have made the library a spot of historical significance.

Postal Stamp

A commemorative stamp was issued by the Indian Post on 12 April 1985 depicting the college campus, thus recognizing the college's contribution to society.[6]

Courses

A computer class underway

The college has Morning batch for boys only, that offers the Bachelor of Commerce degree. The Day section of the college houses the Arts and Science departments which offer undergraduate (honours) degrees in various subjects like English, Bengali, Political Science, Sociology, Microbiology, Computer Science, Animation and Multimedia, Mass Communication and Videography, Mathematics, Statistics, Chemistry, Physics, and Economics. Masters programs in Commerce (evening session), Biotechnology (integrated 5 year M.Sc), Physics, Macrobiology, and Education are housed in the college along with the co-educational Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Business Administration programs.

The college, in its first-ever foreign collaboration, has entered into cooperation with the University of Manitoba, Canada. The MOU was unveiled on 4 February 2008 by the principal of the college Fr. P.C. Mathew and the dean of the faculty of food and agricultural sciences at Manitoba University, Professor Michael Trevan.[8] This college also has COP and other diploma and certificate courses to offer. The batches function in both day and evening.

College Classroom
Observatory is situated on the top floor of the main college building

Community & Clubs

A collage of stamps and club logos

Apart from service to the community in the educational sphere, Xavier is also involved in environmental issues, youth welfare, women's welfare, and poverty alleviation. It has an elected Students' Council (SXCSC) which co-ordinates all the cultural activities on campus.[9] The college's many clubs build leadership, creativity, and managerial skills in students. The clubs include:

  • Leadership Training Service (LTS)
  • Fine Arts Society
  • National Cadet Corps (NCC)
  • National Service Scheme (NSS)
  • Hindi Literary Society (HLS)
  • Bengali Literary Society (BLS)
  • Xaverian Theatrical Society (XTS)
  • Xavier's Academy of Dance & Music (XADAM)
  • Xavier's Commerce Society (XCS)
  • The All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF)
  • The English Academy
  • The Debating Society (XDS)
  • The Placement Cell[10]

Sports & Festivals

A 110-meter hurdle race underway on Sports Day.

The college has facilities for cricket, football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, and caroom, played at the intra-college and inter-college levels. A sports day is organised every December, when students compete in track and field events before a large citywide audience. The Undergraduate level sponsors the following prominent festivals:

St.Xavier's is the only English medium college to have separate festivals for Hindi and Bengali.

Publications

A spread of magazines
Ranbir Kapoor & Priyanka Chopra promoting Barfi!
Mamata Banerjee, 2011

Philanthropy & social activities

The college has adopted several villages in West Bengal. It funds the building of proper infrastructure and provides food and shelter for the needy residing in these villages. This is funded by the students and alumni. This project is called Prayass and was started by Rev. Felix Raj, S.J., as principal of the college.[21]

Also, college students assist at the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IIIIICP) where they teach the special children of IICP every week.[22]

Village to College Camp, a social service festival, is held annually in early January. Underprivileged children are brought to the college campus from nearby villages and slums for a fun-filled day of activity and entertainment. They are also provided with free meals and gifts. This festival is organized by the National Service Scheme (NSS).[23]

Alumni Association (SXCAA)

Alumni Association Committee

The college has a very active Alumni Association with the Principal - Fr. Felix Raj of the college as its President.[24] The association supports the college in several projects by extending financial and managerial assistance. SXCAA is registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act.[25] It was the first alumni association in Kolkata to be granted 80G Certification from the Income Tax Department, thus acknowledging SXCAA's philanthropic activities.

SXCAA of late has been expanding its reach to ex-students, by opening chapters in several cities around the world, including Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, London, Dubai, New York, Dhaka, and Australia.[26]

Project 'Lakshaya' was launched by the college to solicit donations from alumni to fund a new campus.[27] The college was allotted 16 acres of land at Rajarhat (New Town) by the West Bengal government, for the new campus. The plot of land will cost a subsidized 64 crores.[28]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

See also

References

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