NATIONAL 6 -(Spotlight Weekly)]

The Golden Years

As St. Xavier’s School completes 50 years of service, two pioneers describe the institution’s contributions and their own experiences

By AKSHAY SHARMA

St. Xavier’s School recently concluded its golden jubilee celebrations by, among other things, inaugurating a new building. Expressing his feelings at the crossing of an important milestone, Father Cap Miller S.J., rector of the school, said, "The goal of the school is to form a community of persons, which includes the staff, the students and the parents. We have a spiritual motive and we see everything as a gift of God."

Miller told SPOTLIGHT, "I’ve been lately reading the Gita, which comprises the three elements of mansa, bachana and karma. The Jesuit spirituality is similar to the Gita’s. The spirit is everywhere and it never dies. We have to discover that within ourselves and to foster those conditions."

Fr Miller says the school emphasizes the growth of freedom. "Passions or energies can be misused which why discipline is necessary. People come to St Xavier’s and say, ‘nice building’, but many don’t understand our motive," he says. "For instance, we now have girls in St Xavier’s so that the boys will understand and learn to respect them as human beings."

St. Xavier's school : Golden history

One school recently invited Fr Miller to give a talk on discipline. "Instead I gave them a talk on freedom. The headmaster had no idea what I was doing. But to me, true freedom would be to choose with the knowledge of the alternatives and the consequences."

Asked to assess the 50 years of education St Xavier’s has provided to Nepalis, Fr. Miller says: "The administration of the school has been in very capable hands right from day one. We have had principals who have no other interest except the development of the community. The profit motive is absent."

James J. Donnelly S.J., a former principal, says the school makes a special effort to prepare students for the challenges of life. "We have to make a serious effort for the SLC exams. We do tell the students to study hard for their own future. But we also tell them that exam results alone are not going to help or hurt them in the long run."

Responding to a question that the school has hardly made it to the list of the SLC toppers, he says: "We don’t select the cream of students and pump it into them to reach the top. Our boys understand that we are interested in their total good."

Donnelly says tuition fees are lower than those of other schools similarly ranked. "We run to break even. We don’t have to pay rent, which many other schools spend heavily on. The government has been kind enough to allow us to make use of the property without charging any amount."

He then points to a basic difference. "Most of the schools are out there for commercial purposes. But then, what’s wrong with that? They want to make a living. If an institution charges good deal of money for good quality education — I don’t see that as bad. They are at least giving the nation good products."

"But the story of St. Xavier’s is different. We try to look around for a percentage of very poor. Some come from one-room homes, some don’t have electricity. They are very poor and we want to give them a chance."

Fr. Donnelly says, "Before we had a proportionate number of Jesuits Fathers\teacher compared to the students. But now there are fewer of them. And we are not looking for any reward or anything and the quality of our service is a little better that our lay staff. Because they are married and they have their families to look after."

"We still are strict about the student-teacher ratio. In Grades 1, 2, and 3 we have only 30 students in each class. The higher classes have 45. In the 4th grade they are into larger groups. The weeding out process begins at 4th grade. We want the students to feels happy. And the small number are divided into a smaller group. This is the theory of Father Lawrence (the current principal."

"Father Lawrence Maniyar S.J. studied education at the American Jesuit University at Milwaukee, USA and came here as a teacher. On January 1, 1992 he became the principal and for nine years and he has created an atmosphere here that you couldn’t expect anyone to do any better. He is a disciplinarian, he has good ideals and is a perfection driver."