Serampore College: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 08:50, 31 December 2006
 | |
| Motto | GLORIAM-SAPIENTES-POSSIDEBUNT |
|---|---|
| Type | State University & College |
| Established | 1818 |
| Chancellor | Master Dr. K. Rajaratnam |
| President | Rev. Dr. J. W. Gladstone |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Rural |
Serampore College is located in Serampore Town, in Hooghly District, West Bengal, India.
It has two entities, one as an individual College with faculties of Arts, Science, Commerce and also Theology and the other as an unaccredited University - Senate of Serampore College which runs the academic administration of all the theological colleges affiliated with it. The Council of Serampore College holds the Charter and has the power to confer degrees in any subject[citation needed], which it currently exercises only for conferring theological degrees as recommended by the Senate. [1]
Degrees are awarded to the Arts, Science and Commerce students of the Serampore College by the University of Calcutta[2] while the theology students are awarded degrees by the Senate of Serampore College (University). Theological Colleges and Seminaries all over India including Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University).
History
Founding By English missionaries in 1818
Serampore College was founded in 1818 by English missionaries William Carey, Joshua Marshman, and William Ward to give an education in Arts and Sciences to students of every 'caste, colour or country' and to train a ministry for the growing Church in India (See: Christianity in India). From the beginning the College has been ecumenical, but this means that it has no automatic basis of support from any one branch of the Christian church. Prior to 1818, the Serampore Trio had worked together in providing education for their own children and the children -- including females -- of the native Indians.
Charter from Danes in 1827
Since Serampore was then a Danish colony, King Frederick VI, the King of Denmark, issued Serampore College its Royal Charter of Incorporation on February 23, 1827, in Copenhagen, Denmark (Charter, 1, Charter, 2, Charter, 3). The charter came in response to Joshua Marshman's visit to King Frederick in August 1826; the charter gave Serampore College the privilege of awarding degrees in Arts and Theology. William Carey, Joshua Marshman, and John Clark Marshman (Joshua's son) were designated as members of the first Council. At its opening, the Trio released a prospectus which proposed "A College for the instruction of Asiatic Christian and other Youth in Eastern Literature and European Science." The College was open to all persons of any caste or creed, and the founders ensured that no denominational test would apply to faculty members. The charter has also been confirmed by the Bengal Govt Act.IV of 1918.
The status accorded by the Danish Charter has since been re-affirmed for the study of Theology and now forms the basis for degrees of all levels conferred by over forty theological colleges throughout India, and is administered by the Senate.It was incorporated by Royal Charter of 1827 and Bengal Government Act.IV of 1918.
Control passed back to the British in 1845
After February 22, 1845 when Denmark sold all of its Indian assets to Great Britain the management and operation of the College continued without interruption under the direction of a Master and Council. In 1856, the Baptist Missionary Society in England took over the management of the College, and in 1857, the College became affiliated with the newly established University of Calcutta and became a constituent college of that university.
Arts College closes to become full-time seminary in 1883
In 1883, the College closed as an Arts College and began functioning as a Christian Training Institution and a theological institute for the Baptist Churches in Bengal. Affiliating again with the University of Calcutta in 1911, Serampore College, in 1913, was authorised to award the Bachelor of Arts degree. The College faculty was interdenominational.
Twentieth Century at Serempore
On December 4, 1915, the first group of Bachelor of Divinity students graduated:
- Rev. I. W. Johory, Professor in the Canadian Mission College, Indore;
- Rev. N. G. Kuriakos, a priest in the Orthodox Syrian Church; and
- Mr. D. M. Devasahayam, London Missionary Society, South India.
Between 1916 and 1927, sixty-nine further students earned their Bachelor of Divinity degrees through Serampore College.
During the Centenary Year of the College in 1918, the Bengal Legislative Council passed the Serampore College Act (1918 Act, i, 1918 Act, ii, 1918 Act, iii, 1918 Act, iv) for the purpose of enlarging the College Council and forming a new interdenominational Senate that would confer theological degrees for all Christian denominations in India. By 1960, twenty other Indian colleges and seminaries affiliated themselves with Serampore.
The name of the College and its founders are honoured today more widely than just within Christian circles – the Carey Library at Serampore houses 16,000 rare volumes and is used by scholars from across the world.
The Hindu saint Paramahansa Yogananda was an alumnus of this college and the Scottish Church College.
Recent B D and M Th Candidates from Serampore 1980 to 95 - Rev Juria Burdhan, Principal, Kerala, Rev John Perumpallath, UK,Rev Dr Joshva Raja,Selly Oak Mission Centre, Birmingham, Rev Diponkar Haldar, Serampore, Rev Dr Peter Chiru, Principal Manipur, Rev Dr Kavito Sema, Principal, Nagaland. Bishops - Rt Rev Jeyapaul David, NCCI president, Rt Rev Samatharoy, Bishop Amrister, Rt Rev D K Sahu, NCCI General Secretary.
Accreditation
The theological wing has what is called the Senate of Serampore College. It is also addressed by many Indian Christians as Serampore University. However, this is only a pseudonym and the Senate of Serampore College is not an accredited University. It has no status in front of the University Grants Commission. It is not accredited by any accrediting body in India. Consequently, the degrees issued by this theological department do not carry the name of any University. As such, its degrees may not be acceptable to employers or other institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions. According to the India Department of Education, without accreditation or an act of Parliament "It is emphasized that these fake institutions have no legal entity to call themselves as University/Vishwvidyalaya and to award ‘degrees’ which are not treated as valid for academic/employment purposes." [5]
Registrar
The present Registrar of the Senate is Rev.Dr.Ravi Tiwari[3].
Rev.Ravi Tiwari's predecessor was Rev.D.S.Satyaranjan[4], the long-time Registrar since the 1970s who was preceded by Rev.Chetti Devasahayam.
Degrees conferred by the Senate
The Senate of Serampore College (University) confers the following degrees:
For residential students:
- Bachelor of Religious Education (B.R.E.)
- Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.)
- Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.)
- Master of Religious Studies (M.R.S.)
- Master of Theology (M.Th.)
- Doctor of Theology (D.Th.)
For external students:
- Diploma in Christian Studies (Dip.C.S.)
- Bachelor of Christian Studies (B.C.S.)
- Master of Ministry (M.Min.)
- Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.)
By Honoris Causa:
- Doctor of Divinity (D.D.)
See also
Some affiliated colleges
- Andhra Christian Theological College
- Gurukul Lutheran Theological College
- Karnataka Theological College
- South Asia Theological Research Institute
- Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary
- United Theological College
- Indian Theological Seminary
Affiliated bodies
Some denominations
- Church of North India, Church of South India
- Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars, Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches
- Marthoma Church
See also
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
- List of unrecognized accreditation associations of higher learning
- School accreditation
References
- Notes
- ^ World Council of Churches [1] Ministerial Formation, July 2003. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
- ^ Education Info India [2] Colleges under University of Calcutta, July 2003. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
- ^ ATEN [3] Aten's Occasional Newsletter. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
- ^ TEENET[4] Global links for local learning. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
- Further reading
- John Clark Marshman (1859). "The Life and Times of Carey, Marshman and Ward". I & II.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - J.T.K.Daniel and Roger E. Hedlund (1993). "Carey's Obligation and India's Renaissance".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2006). "Hannah Marshman - The first woman missionary in India".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2002). "Family Letters of Dr.William Carey".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2005). "William Carey - The Father of Modern Missions in the East" (New Edition).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2004). "William Carey and Serampore" (2nd Edition).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2001). "John Clark Marshman (a trustworthy Friend of India)" (2nd Edition).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - The Council of Serampore College (2006). "The Story of Serampore and its College" (Fourth Edition).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
External links
- Christian universities and colleges
- Colonial schools in India
- Education in Kolkata
- British rule in India
- Seminaries and theological colleges in India
- Universities and colleges in West Bengal
- Educational institutions established in 1818
- Educational institutions established in 1827
- Asian seminaries
- History of Kolkata
- Bengali renaissance
- Unaccredited institutions of higher learning