The contributions made by the CMI Congregation in the educational field in Kerala were pioneering and revolutionary. Blessed Chavara realized that the community would even remain downtrodden if they did not move with the times and so he decided that his new congregation should concentrate on educational work. So in 1846 he started at Mannanam a new institution of Sanskrit studies where the seminarians and students from any caste or religion sat together and studied. It was the first Catholic school in Kerala. All the other Monasteries also followed that movement. In the year 1864, Blessed Chavara, in his capacity as the Vicar General of the Syro-Malabar Church, ordered all the parishes to start schools attached to them. This historic order triggered the emergence of a galaxy of educational institutions all over the State. It also became the basis of the socio-economic development of the whole State. The main aim of the entire educational endeavour of the Congregation is to bring about a social transformation with emphasis on an option for the poor coupled with a target of a moral reconstruction of the society. In many Provinces, scholarships are awarded to economically poor students. Receiving inspiration from the mandate of the founder, the CMIs run about 500 various educational institutions starting from the children’s play schools upto medical colleges, engineering colleges, ecclesiastical faculties and a University.
Drawing inspiration and guidance from the life of Jesus Christ and
all the noble sages, rishis and prophets of our country, from the Gospel we
proclaim, from the cultural heritage of our nation which is deeply and
fundamentally religious, and in the light of the above stated characteristics
which our educational endeavours have developed during the last one and three
quarters of a century of our apostolate, the following statement is issued as
the CMI Education Policy:
We, the Carmelites
of Mary Immaculate, after the example of our founder Blessed Kuriakose Elias
Chavara, consider education as the integral formation of the human person for
the fulfilment of his/her individual and social responsibilities.
Our educational
endeavours aim at forming leaders who are intellectually competent, spiritually
mature, morally upright, psychologically integrated, physically healthy and
socially acceptable, who will champion the cause of justice, love, truth and
peace, and who are ever open to further growth.
The secret of the
success of our educational institutions is a community of teachers who are
committed to their vocation, professionally competent, morally upright, just
and humane in dealings, culturally sensitive and who grow in the true vision of
education.
We aspire towards
creating a just and humane society where dignity of the human person is
respected, where unjust social structures are challenged, where our cultural
heritage of ahimsa, religious harmony and national unity are upheld, and where
the poor and the marginalized are specially taken care of.
We have to reach out
to the families, primarily of the students, to assist them in their needs, to
share in their joys and sorrows, and to help them experience love and freedom
so that the students realize that our educational institutions are an extension
of their homes.
Our institutions are
open to all students irrespective of caste and creed; they are accepted and
cherished as they are and are helped to grow in their cultural, social and
religious traditions. As they are privileged to be in our institutions, they
will also have the right to get acquainted with the person of Jesus Christ and
his Gospel. Being institutions established and administered by and for a
minority community based on religion, they will give preference to Christians in
admissions and appointments and have a special concern for the faith formation
of the Christian youth.
Our institutions are
also open to society at large by making their resources available for the
ongoing education and growth.
For the realization
of this CMI goal of education, we invite students, parents and teachers to
share this vision and to cooperate with us wholeheartedly.
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