Nominate your favourite personality Sponsored Link : Mehandi27.com        
Photo Gallery Of Rev .Fr. Joseph Mathai Thelekkatt 


Rev .Fr. Joseph Mathai           Thelekkatt
 
A Biography of Rev Fr. Joseph Mathai Thelekkatt, sdb

Rev. Fr. Joseph Mathai Thelekkatt sdb, Rector & Headmaster of Guwahati Don Bosco School, Panbazar (Assam) is a senior member of the Salesians of Guwahati Province. Out of forty two years of his service as a priest, twenty-four years have been spent in Guwahati in one capacity or another.

Education: Fr Joseph Thelekkatt was born in a scenic village near the river Chalakudy situated about 15 kilometres from the International Kochin Airport at Nedumbassery on 12th October 1945 to Mathai and Rosa Thelekkatt. The burning desire to become a missionary and serve people outside Kerala induced him to leave home at the age of 12 and come away to Bandel (near Hooghly) in West Bengal to pursue middle and high school studies. In 1966, after completing his higher secondary education, he came to Shillong to begin life as a member (sanyasi) in the society of Don Bosco. After initiation, he took vows of the Sangath (Don Bosco Society) in 1966.

Later, he graduated in Philosophy and in Economics from the Salesian College in Sonada (Darjeeling). After graduation, he was sent to Shillong to teach and assist in the training programme of the young recruits for Don Bosco Society for two years. After completion of the teaching assignment, he went to Krsitu Jyoti College, Bangalore to complete training as a Catholic Priest where he also graduated in Theology. In 1985, he went to Rome for further training and studies in preparation for his appointment as the Novice Master (Director of training of Young members of the Don Bosco Society). He was at the National Institute in Pune in 1986 for further training in formation techniques and psychology. In 1996, he went to the United States for further studies and secured Double Masters from the Loyola University of Chicago – M.A. in Pastoral Studies (Education) and M.A. in Psychology (Counselling).

Founding of Shantinilaya Community Health Centre: While doing his studies in Bangalore, he was involved in social work, for the poor people of the neighbourhood. The gradual realization that the people of the area needed help and succour in health care encouraged him to get himself trained as a medical worker in St. Martha’s Hospital under the guidance of professors from St. John’s Medical College and St. Martha’s Nursing School. With this training, he took over the dispensary of the college and worked towards establishing a dispensary for the people of the neighbourhood. The eventual construction was undertaken with the blessings and financial support of the Rector of the college, Fr. Louis DiFiore and Misseror, an NGO from Germany. The dispensary was named Shantinilaya Community Health Centre. Later, he also got the sisters of St. Anne of Bangalore interested in the project and they assigned a fully trained nurse to staff the dispensary thus enabling the dispensary to become a full-fledged dispensary instead of being open only after the classes in college. He also got doctors from the nearby Indian Telephone Industry Hospital to volunteer their services and offer medical assistance to the poor. Later, through the initiative of the sisters of St. Anne of Bangalore, Shantinilaya Health Centre was upgraded to a 40-bedded hospital.

  
         
         
 
    Arrival in Guwahati: In December 1974, he was ordained a priest. Immediately after his priestly ordination, he joined Don Bosco School, Guwahati, as Asst Headmaster in 1975. Initially, he taught English and Economics but later on switched over to teaching moral science because he felt it was more important to impart moral values to the up-coming generations.

As Asst. Headmaster, Father Thelekkatt reintroduced Scouts and Cubs in the school. The Interact Club was reactivated under Father Thelekkatt in 1975, which was instrumental in initiating the foundation of the first centre of the Missionaries of Charity in Guwahati. It was the proud privilege of Fr. Thelekkatt to organize the first ever-official visit of Mother Teresa to Guwahati. He assisted the sisters of Mother Teresa to found their first convent and Sishu Bhavan in Guwahati. He has continued to assist them in various ways ever since their initial foundation.

He took keen interest in developing and promoting co-curricular activities in the school with regular campings, picnics, excursions, study tours, cycle tours, social work (flood relief, Janata Housing, Cleanliness Campaigns) being organised.

In 1979, Fr. Thelekkatt was appointed as the Headmaster of Don Bosco. He introduced several schemes to improve the educational environment of the school. He started revamped weekly tests (two tests every Saturday) and coding system for half yearly and final exams where each subject would be given a code and the same would be decoded once the corrections were over. Under his leadership pre-school and primary classes (Classes I to III) were introduced in the school in 1980. In January 1981, to the great disappointment of the staff and the students of the school who had come to expect much from the innovative and creative aptitudes of Fr. Thelekkatt, he was transferred to Savio Juniorate, Shillong as Rector. In 1984, Fr. Joseph was appointed as the Rector and Novice Master at Sunnyside where he was in-charge of training and admission of candidates to the Don Bosco Society. In 1987, Father Thelekkatt returned to Guwahati as the Vice Provincial of the Salesians of Guwahati Province. As the Vice Provincial, he took keen interest in initiating several projects for the development of young people of the region. In the Provincial Assembly of 1990, he was elected as one of the delegates for the International General Assembly of the society. At the conclusion of this Assembly in Rome, he was appointed as the Provincial of the Salesians of Guwahati Province for a period of six years, this being the highest executive position in the province.

As the Provincial, he took many initiatives to expand and upgrade Don Bosco institutions of the province. It was under his leadership that Don Bosco Educational Society first entered the states of Mizoram and Tripura. He established Don Bosco Youth Mission now known as Don Bosco Youth Mission and Educational Services (DBYES) and one of the best-known NGOs of the region, as a nodal agency of the province to look after the young people of the region. His term as Provincial ended in 1996.

  
   
         
         
 
    Headmaster,   Don Bosco School,   Guwahati:     After his studies in USA,     He returned to Don Bosco Guwahati in 2001 as its Rector and Headmaster. During his second tenure as Headmaster, the School has undergone a sea change in curricular, extra curricular, sports and games activities.

1. The curriculum and method of teaching in Primary classes has been revamped and examinations have been replaced by continual evaluation through assignments and worksheets. The weekly tests in middle and high school classes were abolished and in its place unit tests have been introduced.

2. With the help of the British Council, Young Learners English Course has been started for various levels. The students appear regularly for Cambridge examinations for English.

3. Again, through his initiative, the Don Bosco Past Pupils’ Association (DBPPA) has become the nodal agency for the registration of students from Northeast India planning to go to British Universities. The association organizes the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) tests in Guwahati under the banner of the British Council.

4. Digital and multi-media teaching aids have been introduced to enhance teaching and learning.

5. Regular parents-teacher meets have been introduced to bring about cooperation and understanding between the parents and teachers.

6. Various co-curricular activities and competitions have been introduced to develop the talents of the students. Classes for physical education and games/sports have been introduced at all levels. The basketball courts, the football ground and the cricket pitch have all been renovated to provide better playing conditions for the students. The galleries in the football field have been remodelled and covered with an all weather roof. Additional chess, carom and table tennis boards have been provided so that more boys can participate in these games. Along with the School coaches, regular coaches have been deputed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to give coaching to pupils in TT, cricket, basketball, badminton and swimming. Don Bosco Past-Pupils’ Association, under the guidance of Fr. Thelekkatt, has held the All Assam Open Ranking Table-Tennis Championships in 2003 and 2004. The winners were awarded rolling trophies and cash awards. Under his initiative, music lessons are being imparted to interested students who are preparing themselves for Trinity College examinations.

7. Fr Thelekkatt started the process of getting the school affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi and the school was granted affiliation in 2006 by CBSE.

8. To reduce the school bag load, Fr Thelekkatt has introduced the system of thematic teaching for the primary school students. The teachers prepare the course materials in work cards, which are distributed in the classrooms to the children. The students are thus spared the burden of carrying books to and from school.

9. He has initiated the co-educational system in Don Bosco Boys’ School and the first batch of girls will be admitted in 2009 to class I. The school will also be upgraded to Senior Secondary level from 2009.

10. He has also tried to create awareness about the local culture and festivities amongst the youth of the region by starting the Don Bosco Rongali Bihu Utsav in 2006. Students from various schools across the city of Guwahati take part in the Bihu dance and local games competitions which are held in the school. The Utsav has now become an annual event of the school.

Fr Thelekkatt has also undertaken many renovational and new constructional works. The computer laboratories, Vecchi and Vigano Compulabs, have been renovated and upgraded with new computers and syllabi. The Jeevansarathi Counselling Centre and the Delcol Seminar cum Digital Classroom was constructed under his leadership. The library has been renovated and has been air-conditioned. The process of computerisation is underway and new books and periodicals are being added to the library each year.

He has undertaken the ambitious centenary project to mark the hundred years (1906-2006) of work of the Don Bosco Society in India. The new block of classrooms, laboratories and recreational facilities will equip the school to meet the requirements of the proposed up-gradation of the school. The construction of the CENTENARY BLOCK commenced in November 2006.

The academic block of the proposed centenary block has been completed. The Academic Block houses 16 classrooms, three science laboratories, Maths and Language laboratories, new blocks of toilets and drinking water facilities on each floor for the separate sections of the school and a lift for the physically challenged.

The SPORTS & CULTURAL CENTER (Community Recreation Centre) is under construction. The new recreational block will house the Multi-gym, Table Tennis stadium, Billiards hall, Swimming Pool, Indoor Cricket Practice Pitch, a Mini Auditorium, a roof-top outdoor stage, Solar Energy Park and a Roof Garden. The Solar Energy Park and the Roof Garden are meant to teach and familiarise the students with the use of renewable energy and organic gardening.

Father Thelekkatt’s efforts to improve the sporting talents have not been confined to Don Bosco alone. He believes cooperation and fellowship are better pathways to development and growth than mere cut-throat competition. For his initiative to promote games and sports, he was awarded the Abhiruchi Sports Award, 2005 on Abhiruchi Sports day in Guwahati.

Guwahati Don Bosco School has had an enviable record of being a front-runner in every field of educational activity - be it academics or co-curricular. From the founding days to the present, the school has produced and continues to produce eminent personalities for the state. It is fondly hoped that under the leadership of Fr. Thelekkatt, Guwahati Don Bosco School will continue to shine and be counted as a premier educational institution of Northeast India for all years to come.

Innovation, change and dynamic growth are the hallmarks of Fr. Thelekkatt’s approach to administration and governance. He is never comfortable with status quo for he firmly believes one who does not progress, regresses! Under his leadership Don Bosco has certainly grown and developed to meet the challenges of our times.

  
   
         
         
 
Home
Life27.com