Fatima College, Madurai

Fatima College with its foresight has envisioned & implemented numerous programmes & services to benefit the student community. The management firmly believes in the holistic growth of the Fatimites & apart from academic support, it provide services apart from academic support, it provide services like Placement, economic support through the Mother Rose Care Fund, food tokens for the less privileged, gymnasium facilities, health checks, scholarships etc. The student related activities & services are monitored by the students Union ably guided by the Deans of Student Welfare. WEAT (Women Empowerment Animation & Training Programme) programme of Fatima College started in the year 2004 with its vision to empower women through education & training. This programme is funded by DMOS/COMIDE, the people and the Government of Belgium. The various courses offered under this Programme are designed to help the unemployed Rural Women, School dropouts and the underprivileged of this area to become self employed. Fatima College is a premier higher educational institution for women efficiently run and managed by the Sisters of St. Joseph’s of Lyon. The onward journey of Fatima from the first milestone to the present is a daring and remarkable one. Flipping through the pages of history, the humble birth of Fatima as a second grade college in 1953, her affiliation to Madurai Kamaraj University in 1965 and her gradual escalation to a college that offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes is interesting. Year after year Fatima started growing in leaps and bounds and once she gained a strong foothold in the field of Higher Education, she was conferred the status of autonomy in 1990. Her excellence in higher education has been accredited by NAAC with ‘Five Stars’ and reaccredited with ‘A’ grade twice. This leading catholic postgraduate institution for women aims at empowering rural women and first – generation learners by developing human capabilities through quality education. During the admission to various courses, preference is given to the rural and disadvantaged women and first – generation learners. Moving ahead with the marginalized to enable them join the mainstream of the society has become the greatest concern of Fatima College. In such a bid, the college focuses on the development of the individuals through personal care, mentoring and counseling. Discipline becomes the prime focus on campus to the extent that it is synonymous with Fatimites. The students are encouraged to actively participate in NCC, NSS, AICUF, Women’s Cell and other Part – V activities that mould them into responsible citizens who can contribute towards the betterment of the society and the nation at large. Recurrent seminars, conferences and workshops organized for the students also train them to contribute towards the economic, social and political growth of India. Through frequent celebrations of major religious festivals on campus they learn to coexist and imbibe the significance of communal harmony and religious tolerance in this multi-religious and muti-cultural context. Being at the helm of this institution, I deem it my privilege and honour to acknowledge and thank the faculty, well-wishers and stake- holders of the college for their commendable and continued contributions towards reaching the periphery and offering inclusive education – the mission of the institution. Presently, when there is a high swell of pluralism, one needs to combat multicultural challenges, primarily through heightened awareness of other’s culture and perspectives followed by ratifying and revering multicultural realities. By doing so it is to be underscored, that diversities would augment creativity, vibrancy and innovations retaining one’s own uniqueness. There is dire need to shun narrow labels that divide us from others and negate all sorts of seditious stimuli, that prod us to conflicts so, let us create a symphony out of this awesome medley and vow to be effective catalysts of peace.