Sister Doris D’Souza gets a card during her farewell function at Patna Women’s College. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

A teacher, a principal, a strict disciplinarian are what best describe Doris D’Souza. Patna Women’s College — the institution she looked after for 14 and odd years — knows it all too well. At her farewell on October 31, students and teachers of the college bade their principal an emotional farewell. Shuchismita Chakraborty of The Telegraph caught up with her a day later for a talk on her experience at the college, her challenges over the years, her disciplinarian image and her future plans.

Is it true that you used to be the first person to reach and the last person to leave college?

Yes. I used to be the first person to come to the college. I used to reach college between 8.30 and 9 in the morning. I would leave around 6pm, two hours after classes got over. I used to have only three to four hours of sleep at night. Even on November 1, I worked late into the night, signed every important file. I did not keep any official work pending for after my retirement.

What are your plans after retirement?

A person goes through so many phases in his/her life. This is another phase of my life. One should know the knack of ageing gracefully. That is why I don’t want to waste a single moment of my life. For a long time, I had wanted to learn yoga. Now, I will go to the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger for a month. Yoga will help boost my physical and mental fitness.

Post-retirement, are you planning to continue on the governing body of Patna Women’s College?

There is no such rule that allows a former principal to be a part of the college’s governing body. I also don’t feel that a former principal should be the member of the governing body. She might start dictating ideas and have things done her way, while the current principal is also part of the governing body (comprising the Archbishop of Patna and the Superior of Avila Convent among others).

You have spent 14 years as the principal of Patna Women’s College. Before that you headed the zoology department. What was the most challenging thing for you?

I have not gone through many ups and downs in life. I have taken up every challenge as an opportunity. However, getting the tag of a minority college (power to take decisions on academic programme) for the institution was not that easy. I faced some difficulties in the process but it was worth it in the end.

Though Patna University declared our institution a constituent college long ago (in 1952), it was not willing to give us the rights of a minority college. Mother Theodosia A.C., the former principal, also applied for it but could not succeed in her tenure. I also faced obstacles when I applied to the state government for a minority college status in January 2007. Patna University sent a separate file to the government, indicating why Patna Women’s College should not be granted minority college status. We were finally granted the minority college tag six months after applying for it before the government.

You did not know Hindi in the beginning. How did you manage it?

I joined the college’s zoology department in 1988. I came from Karnataka and hardly spoke Hindi. But I soon realised that if I had to interact with the students, I needed to communicate properly in Hindi. I had to be well versed actually. So, I started reading Hindi kindergarten books. I read word by word to improve my pronunciation. After joining the college, I also lived with a family in Allahabad for a month so that I could learn Hindi from them. After returning to Patna, I used to go to Shashi Rao’s house. She was then a Hindi teacher at St Xavier’s College of Education, Patna. I also made it a habit to visit the zoo where I could interact with people in the local language.

You had been offered the post of vice-chancellor of Patna University a few years back but you declined the offer. Do you regret the decision now?

Had I grabbed the offer at that time, I would not have been able to invest my time in the upgrade of Patna Women’s College. It is a beneficiary of my decision (laughs). Today, apart from other departments, there are 900 science students at the college. Recently, virtual classes started at the college where the students can attend lectures of Indian Institute of Technology and National Institute of Technology. A central research laboratory worth around Rs 1 crore and equipped with state-of-the-art machines has also been started at the college. Last year, then chief minister Nitish Kumar promised to provide us Rs 2 crore to buy more equipment for the lab.

You have been known to be a strict disciplinarian. What’s your take on it?

Discipline is very important. Without it, you can’t concentrate on anything and can’t be successful. So, if I was strict, I don’t think I did anything wrong. It was for the betterment of the students. So far as the students are concerned, I used to feel like today they might curse me, but the day they get a job they would bless me. At the time of recruitment, companies see how devoted a person is and for that, you need to be disciplined.

I introduced a dress code for students — they can only wear suits and not jeans and shorts in college. They have to wear their identity cards all the time. I also banned the use of cellphones on the campus. Discipline helps shape you into a beautiful personality.

My background helped me inculcate discipline among my students. My father was in the navy and brother in the air force. I went to army schools.

As an academic, what do you feel about the scenario of education in Bihar?

Bihar has a grim scenario when it comes to education. Primary education is ailing and needs a facelift. Thinking about the upgrade of secondary education first is like giving solid food to an infant without providing him/her the necessary liquid diet. I hate the reservation system, too, because it allows benefits to candidates who might not be able to appreciate it. The government has implemented the Right to Education Act in the schools under which seats are reserved for underprivileged children. But instead of introducing marginalised children to English-medium schools, the government should have a separate set of schools for them. Their state of mind is different from students who read in English-medium schools, so they need to be put in a different environment. The marginalised children can join missionary schools in Class VII or Class VIII.