For the past 25 years, Sujatha Degree & PG College has been dispensing quality education to girl students, particularly from Muslim Minority, who constitutes 95% of the enrolled students, besides making it affordable to them. Even though ours is not a minority institute, these girls repose their confidence in us & feel comfortable, safe & secure in our premises. Their parents, though being orthodox, encourage their daughters to seek Higher Education in our college.
The Vision & Mission of the promoters of this Institute is fulfilled in every aspect and their sole emphasis is on Quality Education. The Management does not consider the college as a money spinner, but as a social obligation to the society. They feel that having received so much from the society, it is their turn to return the same to the society. In this process money was never a limiting factor and whenever requested funds were made available to college by the Management, as they believed that Quality Education could not be compromised. To give credibility to this faith and belief, the institute decided to go for Assessment & Accreditation by NAAC.
This process has definitely helped all the stake holders because the students, the teachers, the administrators and the Management have set for themselves higher benchmarks and achieved them. The outcome of this process was extremely useful in identifying the strengths and deficiencies in our system. The institution has set its mind on the deficiencies and has overcome them to a large extent.
This self study Report is the hard work of all the stake holders over the period of more than an year. It took a long time to put the factual details together, taking care that they matched with the actual practices adopted by the institute.
EXCECUTIVE SUMMARY – S W O C Analysis of the Institution
VISION AND MISSION
The Vision & Mission of the promoters of this college is safe guarded by the Management, Principal & Staff who make it a point to implement them, Verbatim. As a guiding star, IQAC takes necessary suggestions to the management for improvement of education in the institute.
A strong feature of the college is the presence of a highly dedicated, motivated and knowledgeable Management. All the needs in the form of Infrastructure & Equipment, as suggested by IQAC, are fulfilled to a large extent. The prime concern of the Management is quality education imparted in the institute and no stone is left unturned in achieving this objective.
The IQAC plays a crucial role in the college, being sensitive to the needs of all the stakeholders of the institution. It oversees all the academic & of the college. She is a role model for the young teachers who learn & follow her principles to equip themselves with qualities that are necessary for being a good educator. So much so, that she is held in high esteem not only by the students & staff of this college, but also by peers in other affiliated colleges & the University.
CURRICULAR ASPECTS
The Vision, Mission & Objectives of the institution are communicated to all the stakeholders, students, teachers & staff who in turn translate these into actions to accomplish the desired outcome. Being an affiliated college, there is very little or no room for making changes in the curriculum stipulated by the University. Sometimes this aspect of an affiliated college becomes a drawback
when students wish to pursue degrees with different subject combinations not permitted by the University. Academic flexibility gets restricted due to this rule. To overcome this predicament, the management is seriously considering to opt for Autonomous Status.
However, from the courses offered by our affiliating University the ones that can lead to possible employment and placement are chosen. Feedback from students & staff regarding curriculum are always transmitted to the affiliating University. Offering courses leading to employment is our strength.
TEACHING – LEARNING AND EVALUATION
Our major strength lies in Teaching-Learning and Evaluation. The Institute has by experience and modifications devised an almost perfect system of Teaching, Learning and Evaluation. Sustaining quality education begins with the recruitment of teachers with good pedagogy skills and knowledge.
The selection of teachers is done by the Governing Body consisting of members and subject experts, nominated by the affiliating University. So, much so, our teachers are recipients of 5 Gold Medals awarded by Osmania University for academic excellence and standing First in First in Post Graduation. The teachers are encouraged to use teaching aids like LCD Projector, OHP etc to simplify the teaching process and make the concepts understandable.
The teachers are trained to identify academically weak students and concentrate on them and arrange special classes for them. This procedure has paid rich dividends and the students showed remarkable improvement. The evaluation system has been perfected by our institute. The students are subjected to Slip Tests, Unit Tests, Quarterly Exams, Half Yearly Exams and Prefinal Exams with clockwise precision.
The performance of the students in these exams is scrutinized and communicated to the parents by way of SMS. Students absenting themselves are made to write the answers to questions few times as an imposition. Not surprisingly, our results in the University exams touch about 80% mark, while the University average remains a meager 40% – 45%.
RESEARCH, CONSULTANCY AND EXTENSION
In the field of Research, the Institute definitely applauds the teachers with Ph. D, M.Phil & additional diplomas and offers them incentives for higher qualifications. The Principal of the College Dr. (Mrs.) Aruna Singh has a double Ph.D, one awarded in India and the other in USA. Besides her, there are 3 more teachers who have acquired Ph.D degrees & 3 teachers with M.Phil degrees. Teachers who are presently pursing Ph.D degree on part-time basis are given relaxation in college timings, without detrimental to their normal class work.
The College Management is sensitive to the issues related to Global warming and the secretary cum correspondent Mr. J. Jaiprakash singh himself is an environmentalist & a crusader of climate change. This aspect is evidenced by the fact that a series of Solar Panels have been installed on the roof of the college building to produce nearly 20,000 watts of electricity during the day time.
The amount of electricity produced in this manner is enough to meet the requirement of college. However, the most remarkable feature of this project undertaken is that while there, is a mechanism for utilization of electricity generated by the Solar panels on all working days, there is built-in system in the machinery which transmits the electricity produced to the City Electric Grid, on holidays, Vacation and after closure of the college in the evening. This act on our part is in accordance with ―Institutional Social Responsibility.
It is generally understood that we are paying the price of industrialization by way of causing higher emission of green house gases, particularly CO2. Thermal power plants cause great damage to environment by pumping tons and tons of harmful gases into atmosphere. Hydro electric projects generate electricity only when water level in the reservoir is full in monsoon season. The only alternative left for us to create electric energy is by tapping Solar Energy. We have gone one step forward by transmitting excess electricity produced to the Grid for public consumption. The electricity department pays the college for generating and contributing electricity to the Grid.
This arrangement could be considered as consultancy services. The electricity bills were cut by 50% after the installation of Solar panels and large amount of money was saved. The money generated from this consultancy service is utilized by the college to improve & better the infrastructure of the college. We are proud to make this project as the Best practice.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND LEARNING RESOURCES
The infrastructure and learning resources in the college certainly match with those in top colleges in the city. The class rooms are spacious and well ventilated, not requiring any artificial light on normal sunny days. The labs are equipped with all necessary equipment and chemicals to conduct entire list of experiments stipulated by the University. The management extends its total financial support to the college and the recommendations of IQAC for grants are never refused. The college today boasts of expensive equipments in Life Science Labs, Electronics Lab, Computer Lab, Library etc. The college has 2 fully furnished air conditioned computer Labs with over 100 computer systems. The Life science Labs are equipped with Air Laminar Flows, High speed Ultra centrifuges, Spectrophotometer etc., The electronic Labs possess CROs, FG, Microcontroller kits etc. The College library is well stocked with Text Books, Reference Books & Journals. The library automation helps students & staff to access books easily.
While boasting of excellent building and facilities, we also have to admit that we do not have a playground. Being an urban college, play grounds are hard to find. However, we make up for this weakness by hiring the ground nearby whenever required for any sports and games activities.
The driving force behind the college is the Vision & Mission proposed by the promoters of the college 25 years ago. All the stakeholders are informed about the aims and objectives of the college and seeks feedback from them in providing affordable and quality education to all, as envisaged in the Vision & Mission. The IQAC too acts like a watch dog in monitoring the performance of the students and staff and also taking care that Quality education is not compromised at any stage and at any cost.
STUDENT SUPPORT AND PROGRESSION
Since most of the students come from Muslim minorities and are poor, they are encouraged to register and apply for scholarships under central Government and State Government schemes. Under these schemes, depending on the eligibility of the students, Reimbursement of Tuition Fee and Maintenance Scholarship are awarded to them. In addition to these scholarships, the college management awards concession in Tuition Fees to all deserving students.
The college has a placement cell which coordinates with the HR Departments of various MNCs & invites them to conduct campus placements. There are several offers from various industries for recruitment for Customer Care and BPO but such requests are turned down as 95% of our students come from Muslim minority and are not prepared for call centre jobs, which involve night shifts. However, technical jobs and positions in financial institutions attract them and motivate them to take part in campus placements. A well defined Alumni Association helps the present students in making them aware of the skill sets required by them, to be hired by the corporate industry.
The college arranges seminars on Personality Development, Communication Skills, Spoken English, and Soft Skills etc to enhance the employability factor amongst the students when they face the interviewers. Students are encouraged to present articles for publication in the college magazine ―Sujatha Digest‖ which improves their writing skills.
We wish to put proudly on record that there was not even a single case of Ragging reported in the last four years. The Anti-Ragging Committee counsels the senior & super senior students to extend all kinds of academic support to the freshers and make them comfortable in the college. The freshers come from different regional backgrounds, different religious background, different economical background, different social background but when they sit under a common roof they all become equals in the eyes of administration and teachers.
The students of Life Sciences & Commerce initiated the process and approached the administration with proposals for adopting two Government schools in our vicinity for conducting exhibitions, lectures, model presentations, poster presentations to spread scientific and social knowledge relevant to them. The administration gave unstinted support to this project and sought the help of Life science faculty to train our students in achieving their objectives. The administration considered this project as a necessity and treated this more as the ―Institutional Social Responsibility.
After indepth and long discussions, 20 most appropriate topics covering all areas of science and society were selected for this activity. The entire process of dispensing knowledge in Government schools was going to be FREE OF COST but still we anticipated a few obstacles in our mission. It is generally understood that few Principals of Government School did encourage outsiders to come and address their students, until they are convinced about the values and benefits of such programmes.
GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
The Management ensures that the Vision & Mission of the promoters are put into practice scrupulously. The good governance in the college is evidenced by the fact that 95% of the students with us are from Muslim community. The interpersonal relationship between students – Teachers – Management is extremely cordial and they work in consonance to achieve a common goal ― Good Education. The management is sensitive to the religious feelings of the Muslim students & relaxation in college timings is made during the fasting days of Ramzan. This consideration earns lot of respect from the parents who hold the college in high esteem. Leadership qualities are promoted amongst the students by encouraging them to participate in various events like, Debating, Elocution, Group Discussions, and Essay writing competitions etc, both at the college level & inter – collegiate level.
Similarly, staff is also encouraged to express their leadership qualities in various activities of the college. Identified teachers are made convenors of the various committees that are constituted every year to conduct events like Freshers‘ day, Annual Day, Talent Day, Environmental Day, Field Trips etc.
The Heads of various Departments are given an opportunity to exhibit their leadership qualities by way of controlling & managing their respective departments.
The teaching faculty is actively involved in important decision making process. Depending on the skills of the teachers they are nominated on the
various committees that are constituted to help the management in running the college effectively. All the teaching & non-teaching staff are covered by several welfare schemes including the Provident fund & Employees State Insurance.
The management complies with all requests from IQAC for strengthening the infrastructure, ICT, Library equipment etc and extends physical & monetary support for conducting Workshops, Seminars & Exhibitions. All outreach programs are supported by the management which takes care of transport and event management. It’s a boon to have a management of this order, which is qualified knowledgeable & sensitive to the needs of the students, staff & society.
INNOVATIONS & BEST PRACTICES
The College management is sensitive to the Environmental issues, particularly Global warming. Working in this direction, the management has taken several concrete steps to become self –sufficient in the field of electricity consumption. As a result, we tap solar energy by installing Solar Photo Voltaic Cell Panels on the roof of our college building.
Nearly 20,000 watts of power is being produced by these solar panels which is sufficient to meet most of the requirement of the college. Hyderabad has nearly 350 sunny days in a year and hence the college can be run on solar energy without depending on external power supply or the 30 KVA generator installed in the college.
In addition to this, all the normal fluorescent tube lights have been replaced by LED tube lights which save 50% electricity. Similarly ceiling fans have been replaced by 3 star energy saving fans which cut the consumption by 50%. A great advantage of installation of the solar panels is that the electricity produced is shared and passed on to the city‘s electricity grid, after the closure of the college at 3P.M. daily and on holidays and in vacation. This act is viewed by the management as its social obligation and commitment to the society in the power sector. In this way we also fulfill the Institutional Social Responsibility and from a consumer we have become a producer of energy. This aspect is one of our greatest strengths.
The students of Life Sciences & Commerce initiated the process and approached the administration with proposals for adopting two Government schools in our vicinity for conducting exhibitions, lectures, model presentations, poster presentations to spread scientific and social knowledge relevant to them. The administration gave unstinted support to this project and sought the help of Life science faculty to train our students in achieving their objectives. The administration considered this project as a necessity and treated this more as the ―Institutional Social Responsibility‖. After indepth and long discussions, 20 most appropriate topics covering all areas of science and society were selected for this activity.
The entire process of dispensing knowledge in Government schools was going to be FREE OF COST but still we anticipated a few obstacles in our mission. It is generally understood that few Principals of Government School did encourage outsiders to come and address their students, until they are convinced about the values and benefits of such programmes.
FUTURE PLANS
After the assessment & accreditation process, we wish to seek autonomous Status‖ for the college, which would give us more academic freedom in planning and designing new courses in relevance to the needs of the industry. We would also like to introduce add –on courses & short term diploma courses which are in popular demand, presently. Certificate courses relating to Mass-communication, English Skills, Marketing, Retailing, Insurance, Banking would be some of the options that would be considered seriously. At present the institute is running only 3 PG programs.
It is widely felt by all stakeholders that there should be more. After a formal survey another 2 PG programs could be initiated in the college. ICT would be strengthened to make the daily proceedings of the college effective, besides easing the operations of office & the library.