CSI Bishop New Bigin College of Education, Chennai was established in 2009.

CSI Bishop Newbigin College of Education is one of the top most colleges of education in India and the best B.Ed. college in Chennai. In connection with Bishop Lesslie Newbigin's birth centenary in the year 2009, the Institution was named as CSI Bishop Newbigin College of Education. Bishop Lesslie Newbigin served in the Diocese of Madras from 1965 to 1975.

The College founder Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. V. Devasahayam together with other Office Bearers of CSI Diocese of Madras crafted a pearl into the jewel crown of CSI Madras Diocese by opening the Institution in September 2009 with a vision to train prospective teachers who will be competent, committed and resourceful to serve the nation with a missionary zeal.

The college was inaugurated in a grand manner with 100 students. Dr. Mrs. Kiruba Charles was appointed as the first Principal. The college had nine major departments in the disciplines of Tamil, English,Mathematics, Physical Science, Biological Science, History, Economics, Commerce and Computer Science.

Our college has reached great heights under the guidance and leadership of our beloved Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr.J. George Stephen, Bishop in Madras Diocese.

The college is recognized by NCTE No.SRO/NCTE/APSO9200/B.Ed/TN/2014-2015/63402dt. 21.04.2015 revised 21.4.2021 and affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University No.TNTEU/R/Cont.Affln./2021/dt:02.12.2021 ISO certified 9001-2015

Set up with an objective of producing competent teachers who could work in the institutions run by the CSI Diocese of Madras, the self-financed college has been approved by the N.C.T.E (National Council for Teacher Education) in order to conduct the course.

Spread over an area of 8 acres of land, the college stands on a total built up area of 2 acres of land. CSI Bishop New Bigin College of Education has equipped itself with all the necessary facilities in their campus.

HISTORY

Bishop James Edward Lesslie Newbigin (8 December 1909 – 30 January 1998) was a British theologian, missiologist, missionary and author. Though originally ordained within the Church of Scotland, Newbigin spent much of his career serving as a missionary in India and became affiliated with the Church of South India and the United Reformed Church, becoming one of the Church of South India's first bishops. A prolific author who wrote on a wide range of theological topics, Newbigin is best known for his contributions to missiology and ecclesiology. He is also known for his involvement in both the dialogue regarding ecumenism and the Gospel and Our Culture movement.Many scholars also believe his work laid the foundations for the contemporary missional church movement, and it is said his stature and range is comparable to the "Fathers of the Church."

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1909, Newbigin's elementary and high school education took place in Leighton Park, the Quaker public boarding school in Reading, Berkshire. He went to Queens' College, Cambridge in 1928, during which time he converted to Christianity.On qualifying, he moved to Glasgow to work with the Student Christian Movement (SCM) in 1931. He returned to Cambridge in 1933 to train for the ministry at Westminster College, and in July 1936 he was ordained by the Presbytery of Edinburgh to work as a Church of Scotland missionary at the Madras Mission.

A month later he married Helen Henderson, and in September 1936 they both set off for India where they had one son and three daughters. He also had a sister, Frances, who was a regular worshipper at Jesmond URC (formerly Presbyterian), Newcastle upon Tyne, in the late 1970s and into the 1980s.

He is especially remembered for the time after he returned to England from his long missionary service and travel, when he tried to communicate the serious need for the church to once again take the Gospel to post-Christian Western culture, which he viewed not as a secular society without gods but as a pagan society with false gods.From Newbigin's perspective, western cultures, particularly modern scientific cultures, had uncritically come to believe in objective knowledge that was unaffected by faith-based axiomatic presuppositions.

Newbigin challenged this ideas of neutrality and also the closely related discussion concerning the distinction between facts and values, both of which emerged from the Enlightenment. It was during this time that he wrote two of his most important works, Foolishness to the Greeks and The Gospel in a Pluralist Society in which the strong influence of thinkers such as Alasdair MacIntyre and Michael Polanyi is apparent. He returned to these themes in his small volume Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt and Certainty in Christian Discipleship, published in 1995, in the closing years of his life. Besides MacIntyre and Polanyi, the influence of Martin Buber and Hans Wilhelm Frei is also noticeable in Newbigin's work.

VISION

The College aims at training prospective teachers who will be competent, committed and resourceful to serve the nation with a mission.

To inculcate Christian values among Teacher Trainees to meet the challenges of the changing world. To equip the Teacher Trainees with excellent pedagogical skills. To transform Teacher Trainees to function effectively as role models of a Great Teacher.

MISSION

The CSI Bishop Newbigin College of Education with the statement is to train the teachers with active and create minds, a sense of sacrifice, understanding and compassion for others and the courage to face challenges. To stress the fullest attainment in spiritual, moral, intellectual, social, emotional and physical development of each student. In short, to train teachers with a global perspective.