From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Dec 24: The St Joseph's Indian Educational Institutions in Bengaluru, which took birth in 1904 whenthe priests of Paris Mission Society established in the basement of their St Joseph’s European School building on Residency Road, have now turned a glorious 110 years covering a wide range of educational facilities.
The management of the St Joseph’s Indian School was taken over in 1937 by the Society of Jesus, founded by St Ignatius of Loyola in 1540.
In 1972, the school moved to its present spacious location opposite the popular and world-famous Sri Kanteerava Sports Stadium.
The religious order of the Society of Jesus or Jesuits are known for their committed life of service to people through the education and other social service ministries.
The prime focus of Jesuit education is the total formation of an individual within a community and is predominantly value oriented with a particular concern for the poor and the disadvantaged.
Social Service Objectives
Over the past 110 years, more than 50,000 students have been a part of this Institution that has dedicated itself to the cause of moulding men and women of conscience, competence, compassion and commitment, to build a just and humane society.
The institution has steadily grown and expanded and at present encompasses a complete range of educational activities from St Joseph’s Indian Primary School, St Joseph’s Indian Middle School, St Joseph’s Indian High School, St Joseph’s Indian Composite PU College and St Joseph’s Community College in its campus, comprising about 4,200 students.
Jesuit institutions do what they can to make quality and value-based Jesuit education available to everyone, including the poor. Financial assistance to those in need and reduction of cost whenever possible, are means towards making this possible.
More than 400 deserving students have received scholarships to the tune of rs 20 lakh so far and Scholarship Schemes are made available every year to the students along with concessions in fee and other monetary benefits.
The St Joseph’s Indian Institutions celebrates its completion of 110 years in January 2016 with a two day programme on January 10, 2016 and January 12, 2016, according to FrSunithPrabhu, SJ, Director and Convener of the Celebrations Committee.
Some of the milestones in the growth:
1904 - St Joseph’s Indian School begins in the European School campus.
1972 - The School moved to the present campus on VittalMallya Road, in the city.
1979 - The School celebrated its Platinum Jubilee, and the St Joseph’s Auditorium was built.
1987 - The swimming pool was built and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) was adopted.
2004 - The School completed its hundred years.
2006 - St Joseph's Indian Composite Pre-University College was established.
2007 - St Joseph’s Indian Community College was started.
2009 - St Joseph’s Indian Composite PU College started co-education.
2014 - St Joseph’s Indian Primary School was founded.
Some of the prominent alumni of the institution include:
T V Mohandas Pai, former member of the board of directors of Infosys and the present Chairman of Manipal Global Education
Padmabhushan Dr D Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala
Allum Veerabhadrappa, former minister and KPCC President
Kumar Bangarappa, Kannada film actor and former Minister
Prakash Raj, Film Actor, Producer and Director
Madhu Pandit Dasa, President, ISKCON
Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice- President, ISKCON
Late Bishop Joseph D’Mello of Bellary
Bishop Francis Michaelappa of Mysore
BrijeshKalappa, Legal Advisor to the Government of Karnataka and Former Additional Advocate General, Haryana
Ashok Kheny, MLA from Bidar South and Managing Director of Nandi Infrastructure Corridors Enterprises (NICE)
S MadhuBangarappa, JD(S) MLA, Sorab Constituency
K B Krishnamurthy, MP, Rajya Sabha
Sadhu Kokila, Actor, Film Director, Music Director, Comedian
Rajesh Krishnan, Playback singer and film actor
T S Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India
A C Anil Kumar, Joint Director, Central Government
ArjunDey, astronomer at National Optical Astronomy Observatory
SugataSrinivasaraju, Editorial Director of Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (ANNPL) and also head of editorial functions of news brands Kannada Prabha, and Suvarna 24X7 He is also the former Chief Editor at Vijay Karnataka (of the Times Group) in Bengaluru
Padma Shri Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani, cricketer
Roger Michael Humphrey Binny, cricketer
Stuart Terence Roger Binny, cricketer
MariappaKempaiah, football player
Ashish Kumar Ballal former Indian goalkeeper of Field Hockey who represented India in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the 1990 World Cup, 3 Champions Trophy tournaments (1989, 1993, 1996), 2 Asian Games (1994, 1998) and 2 Asia Cups (1989, 1993) He was bestowed with the Arjuna Award in 1997 by the Government of India
Arjun Halappa, Sandeep Michael, Bipin Fernandes, Len Aiyappa, V R Raghunath, NikkinThimmaiah, S K Uthappa Indian team Hockey players
Aaron D’Souza, an international swimmer
Dr N Krishnamurthy who has worked in various government organizations and private companies, in USA, Singapore, India
Jeshwanth - Former cricketer, currently coach, Karnataka Ranji cricket team