Hitherto, there has been no
formal mechanism for obtaining feedback from academic peers on teaching programmes. Some of the departments
such as English, chemistry and mathematics have been able to establish some
linkage with neighboring industries. This trend needs further drive and
encouragement.
As some of the senior staff
members also serve as members of the subject Boards of Studies and / or Senate
/ Syndicate of the affiliating university, they may attempt to initiate the
introduction of new courses as and when the need arises.
Admission to various courses
is in accordance with the reservation policy of the Government of Tamil
Nadu. Admissions are strictly based on
academic records of candidates at the plus two level. Approximately one
thousand candidates competed for about four hundred seats, in various courses,
during 1998. Through the Tutor-Ward
System, remedial contact is maintained with the academically weaker sections of
students. The syllabi are unitized and the evaluation is based on summative end
semester examinations conducted by the university. Periodical assessment of the
progress of students is made through assignments and tests. In addition to the
conventional lecture method of teaching, teaching aids such as overhead
projectors, models and charts are used.
In some subjects, regular field trips are conducted to expose students
to learn practical aspects. The subject-wise pass percentage in the last two
years is satisfactory. However, the overall pass percentage is considerably low
largely due to poor performance of students in the compulsory English language.
To be able to maintain a
full complement of ninety hours of teaching per semester and to avoid
disruption of teaching plan due to intervening holidays and/ or weekends, as
designed by the university, the college adopts a teaching plan on a I to VI day
order. This teaching plan is conveyed to students well in advance through the
annually published college calendar and displayed on the general notice board.
Teachers also maintain a
detailed individual student-profile, class-wise, for purposes of effective
tutor-ward contacts. Lecture notes made available to students by some teachers
suggest that some help is reaching the slow learners, especially those students
who are handicapped on account of being drawn from the Tamil-medium stream.
The college has 47 permanent
faculty (10 Ph.D's, 31 M.Phils and 6 Postgraduates) and 6 guest lecturers. The recruitment of faculty is according to
the state government regulations. Though the college allows the faculty to
participate in refresher and orientation programmes conducted under the
auspices of the U.G.C., there is very little participation in academic
seminars/ conferences and workshops.
The faculty needs greater motivation and encouragement to participate in
such programmes as also in organizing some of them, at the college itself.
There are only 3 computers
in the college and they are in the department of mathematics. It is felt that in order to inculcate
computer awareness, more computers need to be procured and more emphasis on
computer literacy be provided to staff (teaching as well as non-teaching) and
students. Since APTECH is a collaborative organization in offering the DTM
certificate course at the college, and it is also one of the Principal
beneficiaries of such a venture, it may be more meaningful to request the APTECH
to gradually aid the college with computer infrastructure and accessories.
There is no institutional
mechanism for faculty appraisal though informal assessment of teachers is made
by the Head of the department concerned and the Principal. It is suggested that formal mechanism of
performance-appraisal be evolved as per the U.G.C. guidelines. Absence of
learner-centred pedagogy, conventional methods of assessment of student
performance, and the general attitude to drift along with conventional routine
with little involvement in innovative effort may further pull down standards
and undercut quality.
The college offers only
undergraduate courses in eight subjects of Arts and Science discipline. It is
not recognized for offering postgraduate or on campus Ph.D. programmes. As such there is no ongoing research project
funded by external agencies. However, a few teachers have published books,
papers and presented papers in seminars in the late 1980s. There is much scope for creating a research
tempo. The college is located in an
industrial, urban setting and can offer consultancy services. Such initiative will not only enrich the
faculty but will also help students in finding their placement.
The college has listed
several extension activities being pursued.
However, there could be a designated person to co-ordinate all such
activities more effectively. There is
much scope for further utilization of student potential for extension and
outreach programmes especially in the field of community development and women
empowerment.
The college provides an
option to students between NSS and sports. NSS activities include blood
donation camps, AIDS awareness, adult education, campus cleaning and
others. Sports activities give students
a chance to learn and practice sports events of their choice. However, there
exists much scope for greater student involvement in community development and
women empowerment activities. Activities of sports are being co-ordinated by a
qualified (M.A., M.P.Ed.,) Lecturer in physical education. Some students have participated and also
secured prizes in various
inter-collegiate, university and state level competitions particularly in chess
and kabaddi.
The college has the history
of 28 years of academic and infrastructurel growth. Being a government college, its path of infrastructurel
development mostly depends on the share of the assistance it receives from the
government. Expenditure on annual maintenance is met with the governmental
assistance, though the PTA and OSA also support the college.
Laboratories need
considerable strengthening with the addition of modern instruments and learning
resources. Some classrooms and lecture-halls are too small and inadequately
furnished. Necessary steps may be taken to ensure that enough desks and chairs
are made available in all classrooms. There is a canteen run on a tender
contract. There is also a covered cycle stand.
The Peer Team strongly felt
that the compound around the college campus may be completed on a priority
basis so that the required safety and security of the women students is
ensured. In addition, arrangements need
to be made for supplying adequate potable drinking water to students and staff
at work.
The library has a collection
of 18467 books and 35 journals and periodicals. 565 books worth Rs.45,000/-
were added to the library during the last two years, out of which 68.14% are
textbooks. A library advisory committee
allocated funds to different departments for purchasing the books on an annual
basis. The committee also supervises stock registers of all the departments. It
was also noted that all except the Department of Chemistry maintain their own
libraries. The concept of the Book Bank
is to be developed for the benefit of needy students.
Though the Department of
Mathematics possesses 3 computers, centralized computer facility is to be made
available. Funds for the centre may be generated through the Old Students’
Association (OSA) and Parents-Teachers Association (PTA). The present
subscription of OSA and PTA may be enhanced. Further, it will provide a scope
for imparting computer literacy to students by offering introductory courses
spread over short intervals of time during an academic year. The college has
recently acquired a photocopying machine, fax facility and internet access for
administrative purposes. These
automation facilities may be strengthened further.
The Physical Education
Department has facilities for ball badminton, shuttle and volley ball courts;
and facilities for kho-kho, chess,
kabaddi and gymnastics. Hitherto, the participation of students has been confined to college/
university level sports and games events.
Students should be encouraged to
participate in more sports events. Adequate training should also be provided
through intensive sports coaching. A Marker for the games may be appointed. The
college should also introduce the National Cadet Corps to facilitate participation
of students. This will be in line with the national agenda on co-curricular
activities.
The college provides
adequate facilities for students to excel in fine arts and the basic
infrastructure facilities are also
being optimized by way of offering a
certificate course in DTM after working hours and on weekends.
Members of teaching and
non-teaching staff have welfare schemes like G.P.F., housing loan, vehicle
loan, and thrift society. Though the
college possesses a redressal cell, it has to be further focussed and a
feasible method adopted.
The admission to the college
is thrown open to women irrespective of caste, creed and religion. The updated college prospectus gives details
of courses, fee structure and the rules for admission. The college has a
strength of 1001 students. It has
produced results with an average success rate of 60% including a few ranks in
the university examinations during the last two years. The statistics show that the success rate is
greater in the English medium courses than in the Tamil medium courses. The drop out percentages of 19 and 14 for
batch I and II, respectively, needs to be studied for remedial measures. It may
bring out the possibilities for structuring built-in corrections in the
learning and teaching processes. One
fourth of students enjoy fee concessions through various schemes (440 during
97-98 and 498 during 98-99).
The Tutor-Ward system is
designed in most of the departments to provide academic and personal
counselling to students and is practised through informal ward meetings held
once in a fortnight. A career guidance centre is to be developed on the campus
as a support system to students the assistance for which may be sought from
PTA. The college has begun an attempt to organize a placement cell in
association with the Rotract Club of Tirupur.
It collects feedback in an informal manner from students. The method for
obtaining feed back from students is to be systematised in order to develop a
healthy equation between the teaching and learning components. Annual medical checkup for students at the
beginning of the year has been practised in addition to the emergency visits of
doctors led by a doctor.
The OSA is active on the
campus and it provides financial assistance in the form of scholarships to
students and funds for the purchase of furniture to the college.
Being a governmental
college, its system of administration has been structured as per the governmental
directions. The Principal heads the
administration in the college with supporting staff and teachers involved in
administration at different levels. The college Council, a body of the Heads of
the Departments and the Principal, makes decisions on academic matters. Besides, a number of committees, viz.,
Admission Committee, UGC Committee, Magazine Committee, Audio-visual Committee,
Fine Arts Committee, Calendar Committee, Sports Committee, also share administrative
responsibilities. Funds received under different heads like, Plan, Non-Plan and
the UGC are allocated among the different departments by the college Council
according to needs.
Members of the non-teaching
staff are recruited by the government as per the norms in force. The built-in
mechanism as prescribed by the government ensures the efficiency of the support
staff and transparency of administration. Personal registers maintained at the
office for the non-teaching staff and they help in monitoring performance of
personnel. The college administration
is careful in spending the funds allotted to it with in the stipulated time.
The Peer Team has recorded
the following healthy practices in the college.
·
A
decent ambience for an educational institution with notable campus cleanliness
and a good peripheral garden.
·
The
existing premises, classrooms and laboratories have been maintained fairly
well.
·
The
teacher-student relationship and interpersonal interactions among teaching and
non-teaching staff are cordial, thereby allowing a smooth functioning of the
college.
·
The
democratic pattern of the annual student union elections and its smooth
functioning.
·
An
effective Tutor-Ward system and maximization of temporal teaching
programmes.
·
A
sizeable student community enjoying one or the other available scholarships/
freeships.
·
A
significant and healthy relationship between the PTA and OSA members and the
college Management.
Based on the data of the
Self Study Report and the information gathered during the visit of the Peer
Team, the LRG Government Arts College for Women is commended for the following
features:
·
A
sincere attempt to provide low-cost basic undergraduate degree programmes to an
essentially rural and semi-urban women student population in and around
Tirupur.
·
Social
accreditation gained from the local community for being the only government
women’s First Grade College in Coimbatore district.
The Peer Team also wishes to
record its concerns and makes the following recommendations for the future
development of the institution.
·
A
separate library building with adequate library automation and inter-library
linkages are to be developed.
·
Since
the college has adequate vacant space, both, additional infrastructure
facilities for more classrooms, better laboratories with modern equipment and
an exclusive library building and auditorium are to be developed.
·
It
is essential that the college sets up a computer centre to cater for the
educational and administrative requirements. Assistance of the PTA, OSA, APTECH
and the community at large towards this goal should be sought.
·
Either
in place of existing courses or in addition to them, more relevant and
need-based courses with job opportunities may be developed in due course of
time.
·
A
formal grievance redressal cell, placement/ career guidance centre and a strong
physical education/ NCC programme should be initiated.
·
In
the coming years the institution should strengthen its research and extension
activities so that it can start postgraduate courses and perhaps seek autonomy
to give itself an opportunity to structure its own courses, and develop future
outreach educational programmes of the institution.
The Peer Team records its
appreciation of the Principal and staff of the LRG Government Arts College for
Women for their co-operation during the visit.
-o0o-