“I came that they may have
life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, He has anointed me to preach the good
news to the poor, sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and
to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4: 18-19).
The goal of education is to teach the students to live, to discover the deeper meaning
of life and of transcendence, to learn to interact with others, love creation, think
freely and critically, find fulfilment in work, plan their future, or in one word,
to learn ‘to be’. It is in and through education that one can hope for
a more human and humane future and a more harmonious society (Consecrated Persons
and their Mission in Schools, 2002, 82, 84 ).
“Special efforts should be made to enable students: (1) to think for themselves
independently and critically; (2) to seek, extend and apply knowledge to the solution
of human problems; (3) to continually strive after excellence in every field; (4)
to become mature, spiritually aware men and women of character; (5) to value and
judiciously use their freedom, combining with it a full sense of responsibility
for actions; (6) to be clear and firm on principles and courageous in action; (7)
to be unselfish in the service of their fellowmen and concerned for the welfare
of the poor and socially oppressed; and (8) to become agents of needed social change
in their own situations” (AIACHE Declaration of Purposes, 1982 ).
“Education has an acculturating role. It refines sensitivities and perceptions
that contribute to national cohesion, a scientific temper and independence of mind
and spirit – thus furthering the goals of socialism, secularism and democracy
enshrined in our Constitution”(National Policy on Education, 1986, 2.2).
|
2.1
|
God envisions the well-being of the whole of creation and ensures an ongoing healing,
wholeness and transformation of our unjust and fragmented world through human interventions.
The Mission of Jesus Christ is to restore the integrity of God’s
original creation, both human and material and thus build the Kingdom of
God on earth. Our vision is the same as the vision of Jesus—that all may have
life and have it in abundance.
|
|
2.2
|
Education, by its very nature is a transformative process, namely, changing human
persons, and through them, society and its structures. This activity of transformation
is a spiritual, humanizing and liberating activity and constitutes the
core mission of education. In the knowledge society that is emerging, ‘quality
education’1 serves as the gateway to the socio-cultural and economic development
of persons and of the country.
|
|
2.3
|
Our Mission in Education is therefore to provide:
|
|
2.3.1
|
An Education of quality and relevance to all, and in particular, to the marginalized
sections of society,
|
(1)There is often a wrong
understanding of ‘quality education’. It is not a system glued to individualism,
ambition, competition, mere academic results, grading and standardizing. Quality
education in the true sense produces persons with thought and feeling, with eagerness
to share, persons who are capable of looking to nobler things in life. It has reference
to things like the all-round development of the person, humanism, authentic values,
intellectual curiosity and acuteness, aesthetic sensitivity, reading habits, character
formation, social awareness, healthy relationships, refined manners, dignified self-presentation,
intelligent and clear self-expression, good diction and thoroughness about everything
one does.
Intellectual advance or facility
in the use of English should not lead gifted students to mental sophistication,
softening of character, superiority complex, embarrassment about their original
identity, distancing themselves from the community they come from, abhorrence of
anything connected with manual labour, abandonment of their original simplicity
and willingness to mix with ordinary people.
|
2.3.2
|
An Education that frees persons from the social conditioning (such as caste, class,
gender and other culture-linked prejudices) which prevents them from living as free
persons; and which, instead, enables them to see life as a vocation and as a gift,
and which enables them to make free and considered choices in the key areas that
affect their personal lives, communities and society,
|
|
2.3.3
|
An Education that leads the young into the sacred space of the human person and
of every person, making them aware of the inalienable human rights of every individual
and group. This helps to foster pluralism, cultural and religious diversity, individual
and collective freedoms and respect for and appreciation of differences, in the
face of a globalized world that aggressively pushes towards economic and cultural
uniformity,
|
|
2.3.4
|
An Education that humanizes and contextualizes, by assisting the students to raise
essential questions concerning the meaning of life and of their role in society,
enabling them to become conscious of their responsibility to contribute to evolving
a borderless society and to promoting the common good,
|
|
2.3.5
|
An Education that enables the youth to understand the implications of economic policies
and structures, political decisions and the media, that play a critical role in
shaping people’s lives especially those of the poor, and the social responsibility
of citizens as individuals and as groups to engage in proactive measures1 to bring
both transparency and accountability,
|
(1)Education also enables the youth
to understand the vital role of various professions, grassroot organisations and
people’s movements that actively contribute to transform and recreate society.
|
2.3.6
|
An Education that energizes the young to take up the task of contributing to nation-building,
so as to evolve a New Inclusive Indian Society, an India of their dreams, which
they can own with pride and joy,
|
|
2.3.7
|
An Education that thus forms the young to evolve as men and women of character,
competence, conscience, compassion and commitment, who will then contribute to the
evolution of a counter-culture to the present ruthlessly competitive model, by promoting
collaboration and cooperation for the growth of all, in a climate of mutual trust
and sharing; and to the shockingly corrupt society, by fostering uprightness in
public life,
|
|
2.3.8
|
An Education which nurtures an encounter with God as a personal
event and a free response to the call to faith and which nurtures a life of meaning,
purpose and personalized values, including appreciation of other faiths.
|