St. Xavier's College, Mapusa, Goa

St. Xavier's is a college located in the North Goa district's town of Mapusa (also spelt as Mapuca, Mapusa or Mapsa). It is the largest and oldest college north of the Mandovi River in Goa, a state along the west coast of India. The college is accredited by the NAAC with a Grade “A”, or CGPA 3.36 out of 4.

History

Xavier was founded in 1963 soon after the end of Portuguese rule in Goa, when the new administration undertook an expansion of higher education in the region. The idea of a Catholic college was "conceived by the veteran educationalist Msgr. Filip Mendonsa the then principal of St. Joseph High School Arpora." It was favourably received by Archbishop D. Jose Viera Alvernaz.^[1]

The college started in a vacated high school building in Bastora, a village a few kilometers from Mapusa town. Fr. Antonio Ataide Lobo, secretary of the diocesan secretariat for schools, is credited with having "played a very vital role and was instrumental in giving a facelift to the old premises." In those days no diocesan priest satisfied the requirements of the University of Bombay to act as principal, so Bishop Rebello approached the provincial superior of the Jesuits who placed Fr. Edward D'Cruz and Fr Fonseca at the disposal of the Archdiocese of Goa, as principal and vice-principal of the fledgling college.

Xavier began with 140 students in 1963 with a first year class in Arts and Sciences. It was affiliated with the University of Bombay. After two years Frs. D'Cruz and Fonseca departed and Fr. Nicolau Pereira took over as principal. More classes were added which by 1969 included M.Sc. degrees in physics, chemistry, and botany and M.A. degrees in English, philosophy, and Portuguese along with a doctorate in Portuguese.

In 1986 the college's affiliation was switched to Goa University. Later programs include: a commerce faculty in 1993, computer science bachelor's in 1995, and electronics bachelor's in 1996. Later, computer applications (vocational) at the B.Com. level and industrial chemistry (vocational) at the B.Sc. level were introduced.

St. Xavier's offers Goa's only mass communication degree, for students who wish to pursue a career in film production, media, or journalism. By special arrangement they may continue their study of film production at Cavendish College London after completion of their degree at Xavier.

Courses offered

Undergraduate

• B.Com. - Accounting, Cost Management Accounting, Business Management, & Banking
• B.A. - Psychology / English / Hindi / Konkani / Marathi (6 units in each)
• B.A. - Economics / History / Sociology / Philosophy (3 units in each)

Postgraduate

• M.A. - Clinical Psychology, Human Resource Management, Counseling Psychology
• M.Com. - Accounting and Finance, Business Management
• M.Sc. - Physical Chemistry^[2]

Campus & activities

The campus covers 22 acres (89,000 m²) on the heights of what is called Xaviernagar, looking down on Mapusa city and affording a panoramic view of the surrounding villages. The college has two basketball courts, one football ground, a running track, and an indoor gymnasium.

The annual college dance or social is held on the feast of St. Francis Xavier. It is a day of fun, food, and dance for all the students.

December 2006 saw the launch of Radio Xavier on campus.

Since 2002 alumni reunions have been popular, and held as far away as Canada in conjunction with the Association of Alumni of St. Britto High School, St. Mary’s High School, and St. Xavier’s Higher Secondary School and College (BMX).

Past builders of the college

The chief architects of St. Xavier’s have been the Jesuit priests Edward D’Cruz (1963–65), Nicolau Pereira (1965–1991) and Antimo Gomes (1991–2002). D’Cruz had been Principal of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and his services were loaned to establish the college. He founded the college in the neighbouring Bardez village of Bastora in the Fransalian Complex for five years.

Fr. Pereira, fondly known to the students as "Pop", joined soon after completing his Ph.D. in Chemistry in the USA. The complex consisting of teaching block, administrative block, and hostel at Altinho, Mapusa, was undertaken by Fr. Pereira along with the expansion of academic courses and other programmes at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. level, during his 26 years at the college.

Fr. Gomes served the Archdiocese for many years as Secretary of the Diocesan Society of Education before beginning his teaching career at Xavier in 1984. In 1991 he was appointed Principal; he introduced a post-graduate degree programme in Psychology and many new courses.

College landmarks

• June 1969 - University of Bombay allows registration of candidates for M.Sc. and M.A.
• June 1970 - Psychology introduced.
• June 1983 - Konkani, the official language of Goa, was introduced.
• June 1984 - Microbiology was added to the science courses.
• June 1985 - Goa University came into existence and colleges situated in Goa were delinked from the jurisdiction of University of Bombay and affiliated to Goa University in June 1986.
• June 1993 - Commerce faculty founded.
• June 1995 - Computer science/electronics at B.Sc. level introduced.
• June 1995 - U.G.C.-sponsored computer applications course for 20 students at B.Com. level (along with another 499 colleges across India).
• June 2001 - Indian University Grants Commission -sponsored industrial chemistry course for students at B.Sc. level.
• June 2001 - M.A. degree in psychology instituted.
• June 2006 - Xavier offers Goa's first media and mass communication degree course with editing suites, cameras, and film equipment.
• June 2009 - Xavier students receive the most distinctions at the TY Goa university examinations.
• December 2010 - Xavier hosts IT event "X-B: Field of Honor".
• January 2011 - Xavier hosts management event "ENIGMA" organised by the BBA students.
• February 2014 - Xavier hosts Students' Film Festival organised by the Department of Mass Communication & Videography.

References

Coordinates: 15°35′51.43″N 73°48′29.84″E / 15.5976194°N 73.8082889°E / 15.5976194; 73.8082889