St Aloysius College granted Deemed University status by UGC, Central government
Mangaluru: The renowned education institution of the city St Aloysius College (Autonomous), has been granted the status of a university, with the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Ministry of Education, Government of India, approving of the proposal by the college administration board.
Addressing a press meet on Thursday, Fr Melwin J Pinto, who is the Rector, and Dr Praveen Martis, SJ, the Principal of the College, said that the autonomous college will be called 'St Aloysius (Deemed to be University) Mangaluru', starting January 25, 2024.
Expressing delight at the unique opportunity provided to serve the cause of higher education, they said, "The UGC and the Ministry of Education, after making a thorough study of the College proposal on various parameters like physical and digital infrastructure, curricular design, research and innovation, graduate outcomes, student attainment levels, placements, vision and mission of the institution and its impact on the society along with the considerations of the higher levels of successive NAAC accreditations, NIRF and distinctive rankings and achievements, has granted the university status to the College."
The rector and the principal added, "This status enables the institution to create a sustainable ecosystem driven by globally competitive curricula, high-end research, innovations and entrepreneurship initiatives.
It provides unprecedented opportunities to explore possibilities for robust collaborations with regional, national and global partners to facilitate interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and trans-disciplinary undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral studies with joint and twinning programmes providing cross cultural learning exposure to students."
St Aloysius College, which was established in 1880 by Jesuit fathers, has been a premier higher education institution on account of its distinctive achievements of serving the local youth and moulding them into people with qualities of commitment, competence, compassion and conscience. The College, having a national and global presence, earned an autonomous status in 2007 and has continued working at setting higher benchmarks in all criteria related to higher education. It has also consistently maintained top notch credentials in all the four cycles of NAAC accreditations at the national level reaching A++ grade with a CGPA of 3.67 out of 4 and NIRF rankings showing the College within the top 100 Colleges for 3 consecutive terms, they said.
Calling the new status granted to the College the result of the dedicated and tireless efforts of the management, staff, students and all stakeholders who shared the long and sustained dream of the well-deserved status of a university, Fr. Pinto and Dr. Martis added, "As the College embarks on a new and exciting journey spearheading its educational endeavours towards creating men and women for and with others, it places on record its immense gratitude to all the collaborators, men and women of goodwill, esteemed alumni and recommits itself to serve the society with greater dedication and take utmost efforts to create a difference in the society."
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Malian defence minister killed in attack that saw jihadis and rebels seize towns, military bases
Dakar (AP): Malian Minister of Defence Gen. Sadio Camara was killed in an attack as jihadi and rebel forces seized towns and military bases across the country, according to a military officer and two other sources on Sunday.
There was no immediate comment from the Malian government.
“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Defence, Gen. Sadio Camara, has been killed during the attack which targeted his house yesterday,” said a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not have permission to speak to the media.
Two other people, a civil society leader and a security member, confirmed the information.
Separatist fighters on Saturday joined Islamic militants in launching one of the biggest coordinated attacks on the Malian army in the capital and several other cities that left at least 16 wounded.
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali, while al-Qaida and Islamic State group-aligned militants have been fighting the government for over a decade.
Malian troops and Russian mercenaries withdrew from the northern city of Kidal after the attacks, the rebels said Sunday.
A spokesperson for the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, a separatist group, said the Russian Africa Corps troops and the Malian military withdrew from the city after an agreement was reached for their peaceful exit.
“Kidal is declared free,” said FLA spokesperson Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadan.
The Malian army did not respond to requests for comment but in an earlier statement said they were “tracking down terrorist armed groups in Kidal.”
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali. Kidal had long served as a stronghold of the rebellion before being taken by Malian government forces and Russian mercenaries in 2023. Its capture marked a significant symbolic victory for the junta and its Russian allies.
It was the first time the separatists worked alongside the al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM, which also claimed responsibility for Saturday's attacks on Bamako's international airport and four other cities, including Kidal, in central and northern Mali.
“This operation is being carried out in partnership with the JNIM, which is also committed to defending the people against the military regime in Bamako,” Ramadan said.
Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center security think tank, said that the coordination between the two groups, as well as the explicit call for the Russian military to leave, is new.
“The coordination, conducting attacks all over the country at the same time, real coordination on the military level but also on the political level because both claims of both groups they acknowledged that they worked together, this is a first,” said Nasr.
Mali government spokesperson Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said on state television late Saturday that 16 people were wounded, including civilians and military personnel, and that several militants were killed. He did not provide a death toll.
The governor of Bamako's district, Abdoulaye Coulibaly, announced a three-day overnight curfew, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The Economic Community of West African States has condemned the attacks and called on “all states, security forces, regional mechanisms and populations of West Africa to unite and mobilize in a coordinated effort to combat this scourge.”
The separatists called on Russia to “reconsider its support for the military junta in Bamako, whose actions have contributed to the suffering of the civilian population.”
Following military coups, the juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso turned from Western allies to Russia for help in combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened in recent times, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.
In 2024, an al-Qaida-linked group claimed an attack on Bamako's airport and a military training camp in the capital, killing scores of people.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said that while the attacks were a major blow to the credibility of Mali's Russian partners, JNIM is unlikely to take control of Bamako in the near term due to opposition from the local population.
“The attacks are a major blow to Russia as the mercenaries had no intelligence about the attacks and were unable to protect major cities. They have unnecessarily worsened the conflict by not distinguishing between civilians and combatants,” Laessing said.
