THE SAINT Goes Marching On
THE SAINT Goes Marching OnThanks to a benevolent chief minister and a loyal alumni, St. Xavier’s College is set to build a campus to even greater educational success, writes Mathures PaulANY new plan born at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, is backed by strong alumni support. Having said which, this ever-popular institution in Park Street will soon have a sister campus at the EM Bypass. And if the artist’s impressions are anything to go by, the new building should, in a way reflect that old adage about the son being father of the man — simply grand. Spread over 17 bighas, the initial plans involve having postgraduate courses at the new centre.
"Sooner or later the college had to take up postgraduate courses. We don’t have an inch in the Park Street campus to have many such courses. Naturally, we have to expand. When the chief minister heard our plea, he was glad to grant us the land. For the moment, we want to concentrate on four areas — media, information and technology, bio-science and management. We also realise there’s very little liberal arts taught in the various colleges. Our plans for later may focus on this aspect," says Father Matthew, principal of St Xavier’s College.A dome-like structure will feature on the top of the main building that looks like an observatory. In reality, though, it’s just a glass dome through which light will be focussed into the structure. Among the special amenities will be an indoor stadium, a gymnasium, an open air theatre, two hostels, a club house and a swimming pool. "The club house will be primarily for Xaverians. It’s something the alumni needs. Further, there will be boarding facilities on the campus. This will help put up exchange teachers and international students. In the past (1960s and 70s) we’ve had students from South Africa, Thailand, Dubai, Malaysia, Iran and elsewhere. We continue to hope to attract students from across the globe," he says.
Around Rs 40 crore will be invested in the building and later more finance will be needed to develop the infrastructure. "This includes a library and laboratory. If we have synthetic covering on the field, the cost will the then be more. We have already appealed to our alumni members and soon we will approach parents. But our main source of income will be from the foreign alumni. By 2007 we should have enough to begin work on the main block. Another thing that needs to be kept in mind is that in the USA any donation given to the alma mater needs to be matched by the place he/she is working in. This means an individual contributing one dollar will be matched by another dollar from the company. One alumni member said he was willing to give $500. This means $1,000 a month after his amount is matched by his employer. Imagine the possibilities! Also, every member in the alumni has been asked to commit an amount for the next five years. At present we have a total 1,800 members."
The five-storeyed building (a basement plus four) is designed on the classical pattern. As for transportation, the college authorities feel the area is well connected to the heart of the city.
"Sooner or later the college had to take up postgraduate courses. We don’t have an inch in the Park Street campus to have many such courses. Naturally, we have to expand. When the chief minister heard our plea, he was glad to grant us the land. For the moment, we want to concentrate on four areas — media, information and technology, bio-science and management. We also realise there’s very little liberal arts taught in the various colleges. Our plans for later may focus on this aspect," says Father Matthew, principal of St Xavier’s College.A dome-like structure will feature on the top of the main building that looks like an observatory. In reality, though, it’s just a glass dome through which light will be focussed into the structure. Among the special amenities will be an indoor stadium, a gymnasium, an open air theatre, two hostels, a club house and a swimming pool. "The club house will be primarily for Xaverians. It’s something the alumni needs. Further, there will be boarding facilities on the campus. This will help put up exchange teachers and international students. In the past (1960s and 70s) we’ve had students from South Africa, Thailand, Dubai, Malaysia, Iran and elsewhere. We continue to hope to attract students from across the globe," he says.
Around Rs 40 crore will be invested in the building and later more finance will be needed to develop the infrastructure. "This includes a library and laboratory. If we have synthetic covering on the field, the cost will the then be more. We have already appealed to our alumni members and soon we will approach parents. But our main source of income will be from the foreign alumni. By 2007 we should have enough to begin work on the main block. Another thing that needs to be kept in mind is that in the USA any donation given to the alma mater needs to be matched by the place he/she is working in. This means an individual contributing one dollar will be matched by another dollar from the company. One alumni member said he was willing to give $500. This means $1,000 a month after his amount is matched by his employer. Imagine the possibilities! Also, every member in the alumni has been asked to commit an amount for the next five years. At present we have a total 1,800 members."
The five-storeyed building (a basement plus four) is designed on the classical pattern. As for transportation, the college authorities feel the area is well connected to the heart of the city.
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