American Students at Xavier's
Twenty one American students visited St. Xavier's College, Mapusa-Goa, on the 29th Sept. 2005 and spent one day to familiarize themselves with the educational activities in Goa. The students came to Goa as part of their four months study visit to India. Most of them were reading for T.Y.B.A. and some for S.Y.B.A. They arrived at 10.00 am on College Campus and were welcomed warmly with traditional Aarti & Marigold Garlands. The programme began with a prayer followed by a classical dance by Mallika Parsekar (T.Y.B.A). The Principal, Prof Newman Fernandes welcomed each one of them. A PowerPoint presentation on `St. Xavier's College' was made by Ms. Janet D'Souza highlighting the Mission objectives, curricular and co curricular activities and future plan of the institution. Each student spent 45 minutes in each of the 21 classrooms, wherein students of St. Xavier's College interacted with the American guests on various issues like subjects offered, facilities available, educational policies, cultural differences etc. Thereafter Prof. Newman Fernandes addressed the visitors on the topic "Globalization and its impact on Higher Education," in his chamber, which was followed by a discussion. It was noticed that they were rating their Universities lower than the ratings of the latest survey which indicated that out of the twenty best universities in the world, seventeen were located in U.S.A. They wanted to know how India would be one of the superpowers in the world around 2050, with so much of poverty in Indian villages. After the talk, the Xavierian Choral Group entertained the guests with two Konkani hymns and one in English. The American guests were fascinated with the warm hospitality. They were surprised to know that the subject combinations in Goa are very rigid and students are not allowed to offer combinations like History & Biology or Religion and Economics as they are doing in U.S.A. In one sentence, they said that the visit was a memorable and a fruitful one. The entire programme was co-coordinated by Ms. Janet D'Souza, Convenor of the Xavier's Student Exchange Programme. * * * * * * * * * * * *
