Characteristics

A Christian Minority Higher Educational Institution, St. Xavier's was founded in 1860 by a Catholic Minority Religious body, the Society of Jesus, and was affiliated to Calcutta University in 1862. While preference is shown to the educational and cultural needs of the Minority community, admission is open to all irrespective of caste, creed and nationality!

A Multi-faculty College

St. Xavier's College offers UG and PG courses under five faculties : Arts, Science, Commerce, Business Administration, and Education. It also offers various professional degree and diploma courses under Career Oriented Programmes, IGNOU Convergence Scheme and Computer Centre.

Medium

The medium of instruction is English. However, candidates coming from vernacular medium schools are offered facilities to improve their skill in spoken English.

Policy

As a Jesuit higher educational institution, St Xavier’s pursues a policy in admission, formation and training, in favour of the poor i.e. socially and financially marginalized including SC / ST / OBC. Financial assistance in terms of scholarships, direct financial assistance, book bank facility etc are generously offered to deserving and talented students, irrespective of caste and creed.

Three Shifts 

The College has three shifts: 

I.     Morning Session (6am-9:50am)

      - B.Com. - for Boys only. 

II.    Day Session (9am-4:30pm) - B.A., B.Sc, and B.Ed

       - co-educational (for  boys & girls).

III.  Evening Session (3pm-8pm)
      - B.B.A and B.Com. - co-educational (for boys & girls).

St. Xavier's entered the 5th year of Autonomy in 2010-11.

What does AUTONOMY mean?

SXC as an Autonomous college, please note, is not a DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY and therefore not empowered to offer degrees. It is permitted to formulate its own syllabus, and establish its own evaluation system, i.e. conduct exams and publish the results. more...

Degree certificates to be issued by Calcutta University

Though the college has been empowered to conduct examinations for its students, the Degree Certificates will be issued by the Parent University, with the signature of the Vice Chancellor, bearing the name of the College.

Ownership and Administration of College

St. Xavier's College is owned and managed by the Jesuits of the Calcutta province of the Society of Jesus. With the registration of Catholic Mission of West Bengal (also known as Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus) under the Societies Registration Act 1961, the ownership of St. Xavier's College was vested with this said Society from its registration in 1973, and it was administered by a Governing Body constituted as per statutes of Calcutta University.

In May 2005, the Founder Body initiated the registration of a new Society, in the style and name of St. Xavier's College Kolkata Educational Trust. The administration and management of St. Xavier's College is now brought under this Trust with effect from 1st June 2006, and the day-to-day administration is vested with a new Governing Body, as per guidelines of the UGC for Autonomous Colleges with minority character, superseding the earlier Governing Body.

Controller of Examinations

This department looks after the conducts of examinations, evaluations, specifying credits etc. The Controller of Examination is Prof. Albert Cardinal Gomes.

Boards of Studies

Every subject or department has formed its own Board of Studies as per UGC guidelines. The Board of Studies are entrusted with the task of formulating / revising the syllabus. initiating and innovating teaching learning methodologies.

History

152 Years (1860 - 2012)

A Brief History of the College

A host of seven Belgian Jesuits arrived at Calcutta in November 1859, under the leadership of Fr. H. Depelchin (Rector: 1860-1871), in the Founding Father of the second St. Xavier's, They shifted St. Xavier's from Chowringhee to the Sans Souci Theatre in January 1860, which is now the honest home of learned professors and zealous students.

With one hundred and fifty two years of service to the nation, St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, has grown today into a leading educational institution in India. Both St. Xavier's School and College are proud of their contribution to the cause of education and culture in Bengal for 151 years. These twin institutions have produced many great educationists and students who earned regard and respect for their Alma Mater.

Fr. E. Lafont was appointed Rector in October 1871, He was a gifted teacher of physics. The terrible cyclone of November 1864 proved the begging of his fame. The catastrophe might have been much greater, had not Fr. Lafont signaled the timely warning.

It was Fr. O'Neill (Rector: 1904-1913) who gave the College its crest and the motto: Nihil Ultra, a motto, significant and suggestive of a noble ideal, of an unconquerable hope, that urges the Xaverian to a consistent quest for the higher. The motto of the young Xaverian is the old maxim : " Perfectum nihil est, aliqiriddum restat agentiim" (Nothing is Perfect as long as anything remains to be done).

The tiny seed has grown into a mighty tree. In the year of its centenary  (1960), St. Xavier's had on its rolls 3503 students. It has, now 50 years later, 7, 106 students of whom 2, 162 are in the school and 4,944 in the college. A total teaching stuff of 213 is educating them. The school section, starting from the Primary, leads up to the ISC Final Examination. The College offers UG and PG Courses under five faculties : Arts, Science, Commerce, Business Administration and Education.

The society of Jesus, a Christian Religious Order founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, runs St. Xavier's College. It is one of the 24 University Colleges run by the Jesuits in India. The Jesuit College aims at forming young men and women of competence, commitment, compassion and conscience. St. Xavier's College thus aims at making its own contribution towards a transformation of the present-day social condition so that principals of social justice, equality of opportunity, genuine freedom and respect for religious and moral values, enshrined in the Constitution of India, may prevail, and the possibility of living a fully human existence may be open before all.

St. Francis Xavier is the Patron of St. Xavier's College. There is not an educated Indian who has not heard the name of Francis Xavier. It is to India that Ignatius of Loyola, the Founder of the Society of Jesus, sent his greatest son, Francis Xavier in 1542. Xavier was a zealous "missionary on the move". He sailed to Malacca and Japan in 1549 where he spent two and a half years. In April 1552 he set sail to China via Malacca from Goa, never to return alive. He died at Sancian, a small island facing china, on 2 December 1552. Wherever he went, he plunged himself into charitable and pastoral work preaching the message of God's love to people. He worked in India for 10 years from 1542 to 1552, called the Xaverian decade.

The list of the old students of St. Xavier's includes many scientists, actors, film makers, poets and industrialists in Bengal. It can boast of some of its pupils who became international figures of repute: Rabindranath Tagore and Jagadish Chandra Bose. While Tagore was impressed by the relationship between teachers and students at St. Xavier's, Bose found encouragement for his introduction to science in the person of Fr. Lafont, who was called "the father of science" in India. Three chief ministers of Bengal - H. S. Suhrawarby, Siddhartha Shankar Ray and Jyoti Basu passed through the portals of St. Xavier's. You will invariable come, across, in any important office in Kolkata, a Xaverian who has excelled in his field.

St. Xavier's has always been known for his cosmopolitan and national character. Much before the expression "national integration" gained currency, St. Xavier's had tried to foster among its students the spirit and practice of it. Coming as they do from all over India and from various communities, they live in complete harmony, understanding and mutual respect. Thus they are encouraged to develop beyond local and group affinities, loyalties to the country and the society at large.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) recognized St. Xavier College as an "A" grade institution in 2003. In May 2006, it was declared a Centre with Potential for Excellence by the UGC. From July 2006, it became an autonomous college (the first in West Bengal).

St. Xavier's has over these 151 years remained steadfast and persevered in the midst of troubles and anxieties. Now with all the richness of the past, it embraces the future with the same spirit- "Nihil Ultra" (Nothing beyond).

THE BUILDERS: 

The founding Jesuits: 

Frs Depelchin, Lafont, Penaranda, Br. Koppes

The builders of Modern SXC: 
Frs Roelland, Lallemand, Johanns, Dandoy, Cardinal Piccachy, Schepers, Joris, Goreaux, Joseph D’Souza, Beckers (gone for their reward), 
and Huart (still alive).

ACADEMIC HISTORY: 1860 to 2012

• Started as a pure arts college 1860, soon science teaching was introduced
• 1862: affiliated to Calcutta University in 1862
• 1869: Acharya J.C. Bose joined St. Xavier's
• 1931: Rabindranath Tagore presided over a fund raising programme
• 1946: B.Com was introduced
• 1948: AICUF was started
• 1949: NCC was established
• 1952: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited the college on 1st January
• 1955:B.Ed (BT) was introduced
• 1960: St. Xavier's Centenary celebrated
• 1966: NSS was started
• In 1976 the college opens to girls in all departments except B.Com.
• Values added: Computer Centre in 1985, EMRC in 1988, Accredited to DOEACC to conduct its courses, accredited to IGNOU.
• From 1977: HS courses offered, later phased out from 2001.
• 1985: 125th Year of St. Xavier's service celebrated. The then President Hon'ble Giani Zail Singh  had graced the occasion.
• 1985: Founding of St. Xavier's Computer Centre and St. Xavier's College, Calcutta Alumni Association.
• 1986: His Holiness Pope John Paul visited the city and the college.

Responding to the new challenges (Nihil Ultra):