Father Frazer Mascarenhas, who will be retiring after a 12-year stint as the principal of St Xavier’s College, speaks to Anju Maskeri about his legacy at the institute and his plans ahead
It might surprise some to learn that, notwithstanding his decades-long career in education — which includes a 12-year stint as the principal of Mumbai’s St Xavier’s College Father Frazer Mascarenhas had not meant to take up teaching, but dreamed of being a Catholic priest instead. But with his time as principal coming to a close on May 31, he looks back with satisfaction.
Father Frazer Mascarenhas is a proud Xavierite himself, and has left a lasting legacy as the principal who ensured the institute attained academic autonomy. Pic/Bipin Kokate
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“I did not join the Jesuit society to become a principal. I joined to do religious work, but we have a wider interpretation of religious work. It is not just about prayer. It has to do with the development of the entire being. So, technically, I have been doing religious work at St Xavier’s College by helping the overall development of my students,” he told mid-day.
Mascarenhas himself is a proud Xavierite and recalls his days at the institute with fondness. “I’m a Mumbai boy. We lived around Dhobi Talao. I went to St Xavier’s High School and then joined St Xavier’s College for my BA in Sociology. I enjoyed the atmosphere on campus; there was all-round formation,” said the 62-year-old, who is passionate about singing, and playing the guitar.
In fact, it was his own brilliant academic record that prompted the Society of Jesus to ask Mascarenhas to teach. He taught Anthropology and Sociology for 13 years before becoming the principal. “When I joined as the principal, the college was already considered one of the best institutions in the country, so my task was to see how to take it to another level,” he added.
Legacy
In his quest to improve the college, Mascarenhas has left a lasting legacy he is credited with pushing for, and achieving, academic autonomy for Xavier’s in 2010. Since this path-breaking move, six other colleges have taken a leaf out of the institute’s book, and have opted for autonomy.
“The core of what we were teaching and how the students were evaluated was dictated by the university. It was not very suitable for the type of faculty and the students we got. They were capable of much more,” he explains, adding, “Although there was reluctance to change, an overwhelming majority agreed to the idea and that is the reason we were able to go ahead.”
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