Catholic college provides value–based education to empower tribal youth

Raipur – In an area known for its backwardness, illiteracy and Naxalite (revolutionary communists) menace, the missionaries of Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) are running the only English medium school in the region with an aim to improve the future of the marginalised youth.

According to SAR News, started in July 2001, Christ College at Jagdalpur is the only Catholic college in the entire Bastar region of 39,171 sq. km in Chhattisgarh. With 61 per cent tribals and 6 per cent Dalits, the area has a very low literacy rate of 27 per cent.

The Carmelite provincial, Fr. Alexander Maramattam, said the college was started for the “integrated development of the local people.”

“We want to concentrate on the education of the rural poor. In competitions, tribals are pushed back. We hope the tribals will come up by having access to English medium education,” he said.

“We want to increase the number of tribal students,” said Fr. Maramattam. “We want to improve religious harmony.”

Carmelite Fr. Abraham Kochukarakal, who was the first principal of the Christ College, said, “Christ College has introduced job–oriented courses the first time especially for the tribals.”

The college offers various career–oriented courses like B.Ed, D.Ed, M.C.M (Master of Computer Management), B.C.A (Bachelor in Computer Application), B.Sc and M.Com. It is planning to introduce from the next academic year B.Sc (Microbiology), M.Ed, bachelor and master’s degrees in Social Work, and other professional courses.

“Every year we add new subjects,” said the provincial. “We want to have value–oriented and humanist education and not just career–oriented education.”

The institution had obtained permission from the Chhattisgarh Government to open a university but could not commence the academic session due to the Supreme Court verdict against private universities. Undeterred, the Carmelites are awaiting new legislation for starting a university.

Since most of the Jagdalpur diocesan missions run hostels for school children, they motivate them to take up professional courses, said the present principal, Carmelite Fr. Abraham Kannampala.

The institution offers special fee concessions and scholarships to the tribals and the poor. It has even constituted special endowment programmes. “About 15–20 per cent of the fees collected are set apart to educate the tribals and the poor,” said Fr. Kannampala. “We also give special coaching in English.”

Many students are also missionaries working in missions, serving the marginalised, the priest added. As a minority institute, 70 per cent of the B.Ed students are priests and nuns.

“It is also training the trainers, priests and nuns,” added Fr. Kochukarakal.

Besides, the college provides employment to qualified persons without discrimination of religion; the non–teaching staff members are from among the local poor.

“It already has a women’s hostel and we plan to have one for men soon,” said Fr. Kannampala.

Impressed by the college infrastructure, the newly appointed vice–chancellor of the Raipur–based Ravi Shankar University to which the college is affiliated has asked the management to introduce subjects like herbal medicines, tribal anthropology and rural technology.