The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Stella Maris College urged to open its doors to all

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 16, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Stella Maris College urged to open its doors to all

Special Correspondent

New information and technology centre opened

— Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

ALL TOGETHER: Students of Stella Maris College singing in a choir at the I-Day celebrations and diamond jubilee celebrations of the college in Chennai on Wednesday.

CHENNAI: While August 15, 1947 meant freedom from the British rule for millions of Indians, it was also a special day for 32 young women.

They were the first students of Stella Maris College, which was founded on the same day.

Sixty years later, Mrs. Rajyam, one of those first students, reminisced at the college’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations: “We were so happy just to be there, to learn…even if it was just two subjects, History and Logic,” she said. Today, her granddaughter, with a much wider palate of subjects to choose from, is a first-year student of biotechnology in the college.

Stella Maris’ role in helping to build a knowledge society would be key in one of modern India’s greatest challenges, said N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu. He encouraged the college to make its educational opportunit ies available to young women everywhere, regardless of faith, caste, economic status, or even nationality.

“On the one hand, you are committed to the pursuit of quality. There is no compromise on that,” Mr. Ram said. “On the other hand, there is no use pursuing excellence, unless you open your doors to all… Providing access is as great a task as the pursuit of excellence.”

The college took another step in the journey to a knowledge society with the inauguration of a new information and technology centre, which has been set up with a Rs. 50-lakh donation from Indian Overseas Bank.

S.A. Bhatt, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, who inaugurated the centre, hoped it would be used to propagate e-learning. “This is something everyone should have access to.

The wealth of information available on the web will not only inform but also empower the students,” he said.

The centre would also include an enlarged browsing centre and a language learning centre, said principal Sister Annamma Philip.

The college had launched the Stella Maris Diamond Jubilee Scholarships to help deserving students on a merit-cum-means basis, she said. Sixty saplings were planted on the campus.

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