Established in 1951, XAVIER BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA, (XBHEI), is the only association of all the Catholic Institutions of Higher Education in India. It is officially recognized by the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India (CBCI) and functions in collaboration with the CBCI Commission for Education and Culture. It is the Indian organ to represent the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU / FIUC) with headquarters in Paris. Xavier Board is also the South Asia regional arm of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU). It stands for Gospel values, Excellence and Leadership through higher education in India. Its national office is in Bangalore: Xavier Board of Higher Education in India ,National Office, 31 Primrose Road, Bangalore 560 025.
At present, we have about 420 Colleges and Six Universities and Five Medical Colleges as member Institutions of Xavier Board. The following are the Six Catholic Universities in India registered under Xavier Board.
1. Christ University , Bangalore, Karnataka
2. Assam Don Bosco University, Sonapur, Assam
3. Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
4. St. Xavier’s University , Kolkata
5. St. Joseph’s University , Bangalore
6. St. Joseph’s University , Dimapur, Nagaland
We are proud that the Church in India is held in high esteem and respected by the Government, politicians and the public at large because of the contribution of the Catholic Church through institutions of higher education, health care services and other humanitarian services. Many member institutions of Xavier Board are graded the best in India. Many of these institutions are accredited by NAAC with A++ / A+ /A / B++ / B+ grades. Thirty two colleges are recognised as High Performing Colleges and Universities with high NIRF Rankings and other World University Rankings in 2021.
Sixty of our member colleges have obtained Autonomous status and a good number of XB member colleges been awarded the ‘College with Potential for Excellence Status and a few as “College of Excellence Status”. Many of our Principals and Staff members are rendering great services as peer team members in NAAC, NCTE / AICTE and also as eminent resource persons and academicians at the national and international level . Our Medical colleges, Engineering colleges and Professional colleges including Nursing and Teachers’ Training Colleges have been recognized as trend setters and lead the Indian educational scenario to greater strides. St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences (SJNAHS) Bangalore, is a self-financing private Institution. St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru established in 1963 by the CBCI with the aim of training healthcare personnel committed to serving the poor in the margins.
It consists of Medical College, State of the art Hospital, College of Nursing, Research Institute, and Institute of Health Care Management and Paramedical Studies The stakeholders appreciate the Excellence, unselfish commitment, emphasis on Human Values, Leadership Training, and Skill Development, for which our institutions dedicate themselves, even in the remote villages of India. Father Muller Medical College ,Mangalore established in 1995 as a private Religious Minority Medical College is run by the diocese of Mangalore .We have Pushpagiri Medical College, run by Arch Eparchy of Thiruvalla under Syro- Malankara Catholic Church ( 2002), Amala Institute of Medical Sciences owned and managed by CMI Fathers ( 1978), Jubilee Mission Medical College Hospital and Research Institute , Trichur is one of the pioneering institutions in Health Care and Education in South India. As a Christian Minority Institution JMMCRI, was established in the year 1952 under the Canon Law by the Catholic Archdiocese of Trichur and was registered under the Charitable Organisations. These Health Care Higher Educational Institutions are some of the land marks in the medical mission path of the Catholic Church in India by giving training for health care personnel.
Many of the downtrodden and marginalized groups have come up to the main stream of the society because of the services rendered by these medical educational institutions. The academic, research, outreach and extension programmes undertaken by these Educational and Health Care higher educational institutions of Xavier Board facilitate better access to the periphery of the society and to the remote villages of India and thus reflect the compassionate face of Christ in a transparent manner leading to the core values of God’s Kingdom in the world.