Christian Indian Colleges
The first Christian college in India, the Church Missionary Society College, was founded in 1818 in the southern state of Kerala. Christian education was brought to India by European Christians during the colonial period. Christian colleges continue to be influential in the India and their numbers continue to rise even though Christianity is a minority religion.
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History
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According to the All India Association for Christian Higher Education, 27 Christian colleges in India were established more than 100 years ago. Twenty more are between 75 and 100 years old and 39 Christian colleges are between 50 and 75 years of age. At the time of Indian Independence, 66 of the country's 450 colleges were Christian institutions. As of 2011, there are 300 colleges run by Christian administrations.
Affiliations
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The Christian centers of higher learning belong to different denominations. The oldest colleges are Anglican and Catholic colleges. These were followed by more Protestant church schools. Today there are growing numbers of colleges run by smaller Protestant denominations or non-denominational Bible churches. There area also colleges belonging to the Orthodox church. Forty religious orders of the Catholic faith have colleges in India.
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Excellence
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A number of Christian colleges were among the top ten Indian colleges in a survey by India Today Magazine. In the all-around top ten were St. Stephen’s, New Delhi, St.Xavier’s College, Bombay, Loyola College of Chennai, St. Xavier’s College of Calcutta and Stella Maris College in Chennai. Vellore Medical College is considered among the top five medical schools as is St. John’s Medical College in Bangalore.
Goals AIACHE
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Christian colleges work together to achieve objectives through the All India Association for Christian Higher Education (AIACHE), founded in 1967. The organization includes colleges of the Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox doctrines. The member schools are found in all states of the country. The AIACHE coalition is concerned with "maximizing effectiveness and service" of Christian higher education to the country. AIACHE has programs that address "women’s empowerment, environmental conservation, action-oriented research, human rights education, human resources development, and tribal development," among others.
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References
- Photo Credit Christian cross image by Olga Chernetskaya from Fotolia.com
