The Society of Jesus, a Christian Religious Order founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, has been active in the field of education throughout the world, since its origin. Worldwide, the Society of Jesus is responsible for 1865 Educational Institutions in 65 countries, 356 of them being secondary schools. These Jesuit educational Institutions engage the efforts of over 98,000 teachers among whom over 91,000 lay people – men and women belonging to different religious communities and the rest members of the Society of Jesus. They educate approximately 17,92,000 students.
In India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Society of Jesus is responsible for 153 High Schools, 38 University Colleges, 14 Technical Institutes and 5 other Institutes with 8,085 lay teachers educating 2,34,338 students belonging to every social class, community and linguistic group. They are taught through the medium of English and other regional languages. These institutions are part of the Catholic Church’s effort to share in the country’s educational undertaking.