Agnesians spread Christmas cheer through Navidad 2011

December 22, 2011

Mangalore, December 22: As a prelude to this year's Christmas festival, the city based St Agnes College showcased a variety entertainment through 'Navidad 2011', an annual Xmas tiding programme.

Noted social activist and former president of Maand Sobhann Loius Pinto and his wife Patricia Pinto were the chief guests of the evening.

The celebrations began with a prayer song by the St Agnes Special school students. Three students dressed like messengers of peace were the emcees. The students from the commerce section presented a dance which was quite colourful.

Filling up the gap between the programs was Margerie Texela who did a good job of quizzing the audience on the various aspects of the festival. Those who answered the questions collected their prizes on stage.

Following the dance was a large group of Agnesians who rolled out Christmas carols one after the other. This was accompanied by students dressed like Joseph and Mary who depicted the times when Jesus was born at Bethlehem. They enacted the birth of the lord and even had Santa Claus coming in and throwing away goodies at the audience.

Later on the stage function was conducted. Principal of St Agnes College Sister Prem D Souza had before her a box filled with lucky draw coupons bought by the audience. Mr Loius Pinto did the honours of picking up the coupons and distributing the prizes to the winners. Andrea D Souza won the lucky draw in the adults section. Keerthi Shetty won it in the students section.

The motive of the Navidad show was to donate some amount of money to the needy as charity. Hence, a cheque was handed over to Anita D Souza and her family for the purpose of building a house. Anita thanked the St Agnes College for its gesture.

Addressing the gathering chief guest Louis Pinto said, “Christmas is a time when there is celebration everywhere. It is like magic and reminds us that we must give our glory to god. Sharing and caring is the main motive of the festival and it is good that charity is being done today.”

The stage programme was followed by a special play written and directed by Rajni Patrao titled the “White Christmas”. It was a story of two spinsters, Ruth and Martha living together.

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Mangaluru’s KPT becomes India’s first autonomous govt polytechnic

News Network

January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

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