“Mission of Education” according to Dr Kalam, “is the foundation to ensure the creation of enlightened citizens who will make a prosperous, happy and strong nation”. Education enkindles a light and dispels darkness of ignorance. The educational institutions under the management of Ursuline Franciscan Education Society are the beacons of light in the lives of the young persons, leading them from darkness to light and striving towards creating enlightened minds.
The focus of education is also to train our students to become persons of conscience, competence, compassion and commitment. Along with academic excellence, students are trained to understand and analyze the challenges they face in life with critical and creative thinking skills. Emphasis is to be laid on fostering human excellence in our students so that they grow in empathy, social responsibility and learn to discern between the good and the bad and grow as persons of great moral and spiritual character.
The fundamental goal of education is all-round development of a child. It is not measured only in the area of intellectual capabilities, but all aspects of human person – social, psychological, emotional, physical and cultural. In this regard, school has primary duty in exploration of great potentials of children, identifying what each student can achieve. This builds strong sense of self-confidence, self-esteem and courage to fight against all odds of life. The strength may be academic, artistic, vocational or interpersonal. Student’s passion or natural aptitude in certain area may lead to different opportunities to contribute to the world with his/her creative power.
As we glance at our world we notice the following primary challenges of education in most of the countries.
- To correlate education with the problems of life.
- To democratize education.
- To cope with the problems arising out of the modern scientific and technological advancement
- To make education adequately efficient.
The charism of our Congregation blossomed in keeping with the signs of the time. We, therefore, need to respond adequately to the signs of the time in the world of today, particularly in India where most our schools have been established. The problems of the world are problems of our country too and problems of our country are problems of the society we live in, problems that we face in our institutions whether big and small.
Can we visualize a vision and mission 2032: 10 years ahead in terms of Nation Building through ignited minds? As part of it we envisage:
- A nation where agriculture, industry and service sector work together in harmony
- A nation where education with value system is not denied to any meritorious candidates because of societal or economic discrimination
- A nation where the governance is responsive, transparent and corruption-free
- A nation where poverty has been totally eradicated and illiteracy eliminated
- A nation where crimes against women and children are absent and none in the society feels alienated
- A nation that is devoid of terrorism and intolerance, that respects every religion
- A nation where the constitutional rights of every person are upheld and respected
- A nation which is healthy, secure, peaceful and happy and one of the best places to live in
- A nation where every educated youth is employable and capable of living a dignified life
- A nation where environment is safeguarded and the Mother Earth is not exploited
- A nation where its rich heritage is preserved, where the caste system is wiped out and all citizens are treated as equals.
Here is the challenge to each one of us. You know the story of that little bird which was trying to put off the forest fire by carrying the water in its beak, but did not hesitate to take risks. Yes, we need courage coupled with a vision. Instead of asking why ask why not? Why not in my School, why not in my Province? Why not in my State and why not in my Country? I will motivate myself, my staff, my students, my Sisters … and so forth. We together can put out the forest fire if we have a vision and courage. Or else we would be sitting on the heap of ashes destroyed by the fire, crying to no avail.
I do appreciate the tremendous dedication, unwavering commitment and unquenching enthusiasm of the teaching and non-teaching staff of our institutions to provide quality, value-based and relevant education. I pray that the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the teacher par excellence, the vision of our Patroness St Angela Merici, the courage of our Founder and Pioneers will goad us to take a stand and make a difference in our education system and bring about the realization of igniting minds and transforming lives. I am sure this contemporary website with its information and details provided serves as an accessible gateway to information regarding the UFES and the schools under its management.
Parents and the educationalist are striving hard that their children do not remain stagnant in cognitive development and become sluggish in acquiring knowledge.
We the administrative body are with you in all your struggles. Let us create a more affluent world to our students and be a beacon of love and cooperation to each other. I wish success to Sr Lilly Pinto, Coordinator for Education, the governing body members of UFES and all our Schools during this post pandemic era. Thanks to all those who browse this website.