St. Joseph High School
It is very difficult to establish the exact year of the foundation of the school at Kandivli. According to Fr. Ernest Hull, the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption which was at Magatana had a Catholic population of 272 and 39 children in the school. The first data we have of a school attached to the Church of the Lady of the Assumption at Kandivli is found in the Pastoral Gazette of 1882 which gives the following data:
1882 1 Teacher 10 boys 5 girls
1883 1 Teacher 9 boys 1 girl
1884 1 Teacher 17 boys -
1885 – 1891 No records
1892 1 Teacher 24 boys -
1893 1 Teacher 19 boys -
1894 1 Teacher 21 boys -
About this time a building for a school was put up, and so in 1891, Kandivli got its own Anglo Vernacular School, the first such school in the area, and children from Olvem and Poinsar attended it. The Examiner of 1894 (p. 565) states, “ The new school in the Church yard of Kandivli is a lasting testimony to Fr. Nicolao D’Oliveira’s zeal for the education of the youth (Fr. N.D’Oliveira was in our parish from 1874 – 1882, and from November 1890 till his death in July 13,1894).
Some more statistics:
1895 1 Teacher 21 boys
1896 1 Teacher 25 boys
1897 1 Teacher 14 boys
1898 1 Teacher 5 boys (It was during this time that the Cholera Epidemic and
Bubonic Plague was rampant in Bombay)
On Dec. 31, 1899, the School had 18 pupils, of whom 12 were East Indians (including 2 girls) and 6 Hindus. The School was then under the Joint Management of Joseph Braz Miranda and John Caitan Mendes.
On the occasion of the Prize Distribution Ceremony, the IX Annual Report was read (the first therefore being read in about 1890-91).
In the year 1900, there was 1 Teacher and 12 pupils. There are no records from 1901-1908.
Then from 1909-1911, the Indian Catholic Directory gives the number of students as 7. A survey made in 1916, and published in The Examiner (pp. 83,74), gives the number of pupils as 66, of whom 60 were Catholics (Kandivli – 42, Poinsur – 11 and Orlem – 7). The School appears as a Primary English Teaching School. In 1918 it had lost 7 of its students.
In August 1919 this school was replaced by a new school called St. Joseph School (subsequently St. Joseph High School) through the efforts of the then Vicar, Rev. John A Gomez.In 1928, the school had 43 students on its roll (Catholic boys/girls – 12/12 and non-Catholic boys/girls – 12/7)
In the India Catholic Directory of 1932, 2 schools appear in Kandivli : Parish School – 32 students, Marathi School – 27 students. In the documents of 1935-36, the number of students is 35.The Examiner of Oct. 16, 1926 (p. 502), speaks of a Debate held in the Hall of St. Joseph School at Kandivli.
Another reference we have to St. Joseph School is in the Examiner of 1955 (p. 94), “Kandivli has not forgotten the late Fr. John A. Gomes and the good work that he has done for the Parish”. His portrait was unveiled in St. Joseph’s Hall and at the requiem mass for the repose of his soul, Fr. Raymond Mendes, in his eulogy, enumerated his good works : the School building in the Church yard and at Bunderpakhadi, the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Oratory to St.Joseph, the founding of the Sodalities, etc.
It is very difficult to establish the exact year of the foundation of the school at Kandivli. According to Fr. Ernest Hull, the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption which was at Magatana had a Catholic population of 272 and 39 children in the school. The first data we have of a school attached to the Church of the Lady of the Assumption at Kandivli is found in the Pastoral Gazette of 1882 which gives the following data:
1882 1 Teacher 10 boys 5 girls
1883 1 Teacher 9 boys 1 girl
1884 1 Teacher 17 boys -
1885 – 1891 No records
1892 1 Teacher 24 boys -
1893 1 Teacher 19 boys -
1894 1 Teacher 21 boys -
About this time a building for a school was put up, and so in 1891, Kandivli got its own Anglo Vernacular School, the first such school in the area, and children from Olvem and Poinsar attended it. The Examiner of 1894 (p. 565) states, “ The new school in the Church yard of Kandivli is a lasting testimony to Fr. Nicolao D’Oliveira’s zeal for the education of the youth (Fr. N.D’Oliveira was in our parish from 1874 – 1882, and from November 1890 till his death in July 13,1894).
Some more statistics:
1895 1 Teacher 21 boys
1896 1 Teacher 25 boys
1897 1 Teacher 14 boys
1898 1 Teacher 5 boys (It was during this time that the Cholera Epidemic and
Bubonic Plague was rampant in Bombay)
On Dec. 31, 1899, the School had 18 pupils, of whom 12 were East Indians (including 2 girls) and 6 Hindus. The School was then under the Joint Management of Joseph Braz Miranda and John Caitan Mendes.
On the occasion of the Prize Distribution Ceremony, the IX Annual Report was read (the first therefore being read in about 1890-91).
In the year 1900, there was 1 Teacher and 12 pupils. There are no records from 1901-1908.
Then from 1909-1911, the Indian Catholic Directory gives the number of students as 7. A survey made in 1916, and published in The Examiner (pp. 83,74), gives the number of pupils as 66, of whom 60 were Catholics (Kandivli – 42, Poinsur – 11 and Orlem – 7). The School appears as a Primary English Teaching School. In 1918 it had lost 7 of its students.
In August 1919 this school was replaced by a new school called St. Joseph School (subsequently St. Joseph High School) through the efforts of the then Vicar, Rev. John A Gomez.In 1928, the school had 43 students on its roll (Catholic boys/girls – 12/12 and non-Catholic boys/girls – 12/7)
In the India Catholic Directory of 1932, 2 schools appear in Kandivli : Parish School – 32 students, Marathi School – 27 students. In the documents of 1935-36, the number of students is 35.The Examiner of Oct. 16, 1926 (p. 502), speaks of a Debate held in the Hall of St. Joseph School at Kandivli.
Another reference we have to St. Joseph School is in the Examiner of 1955 (p. 94), “Kandivli has not forgotten the late Fr. John A. Gomes and the good work that he has done for the Parish”. His portrait was unveiled in St. Joseph’s Hall and at the requiem mass for the repose of his soul, Fr. Raymond Mendes, in his eulogy, enumerated his good works : the School building in the Church yard and at Bunderpakhadi, the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Oratory to St.Joseph, the founding of the Sodalities, etc.
