Jesuit Superior General says educating poor is Jesuits' priority in India
(17 Nov. 2006) : Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, the 78-year-old Jesuit Superior General, who is currently on an Indian tour from 5th to 17th November, reiterated that educating the poor is Jesuits’ priority in India.
The Jesuit Superior General made these remarks during the golden jubilee celebrations on Wednesday of Jesuit’s St. Xavier’s College in Ahmedabad, in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Fr Kolvenbach maintained that globalization and an open-market system are forcing governments to reduce educational subsidies, thus making it more difficult for poor people to pursue an education. "As government funding and assistance decrease, the market economy increasingly infringes on higher education," said the leader of the Church's largest society of Religious priests, who are known around the world for the high quality of their educational institutions. There would be a "temptation" to "cut back scholarships to the poorer students and reduce the intake of those incapable of meeting higher fees," he explained. "This is a temptation that the college must resolutely resist," Father Kolvenbach told the gathering of more than 1,000 guests.
Jesuits run almost all the Catholic educational institutions in Gujarat, most of them named after Saint Francis Xavier, the first Jesuit to land in India. The saint arrived in 1542, eight years after the society was formed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola and nine other young men.
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