Assessment Report on
Institutional Accreditation
of
Stella Matutina College of Education
Stella Matutina College of
Education was originally started in 1961 by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
(FMM) in Santhome with the philosophy of preparing ideal teachers for Secondary
and Primary Schools in the State of Tamil Nadu. The institution was formed with
a small nucleus of 60 students and 6 teachers in the premises of St.Thomas
Convent. The institution has flourished
under the dynamic and committed leadership of the first principal Rev.Sr.John
Haughton. “Attaining truth by the path
of love” is the motto of the institution which prepares the young minds to face
the challenges of contemporary life.
In May 1977, the college was handed over to the Franciscan Sisters of Presentation of Mary, Coimbatore due to the change in policy of FMM sisters who decided to go in for social service in villages and some of the faculty members who were foreigners decided to leave the country. The institution continued in the same place for 8 years and only in the year 1985, it was shifted to Ashok Nagar, Chennai. The shifting of the college to Ashok Nagar provided an ideal base and rich socio-cultural climate, in chennai one of the major cities of India. The college offers programmes in pedagogy at three levels B.Ed., M.Ed. and research. There are 12 well-qualified teachers in the faculty of the institution and 200(which includes 180 B.Ed., 4 M.Ed., 3 M.Phil.. & 13 Ph.D.) students enrolled at different levels. The college is affiliated to Madras University and has grown into one of the most reputed institutions of education in the State of Tamil Nadu.
The college volunteered to be assessed by the National Assessment Accreditation Council. The NAAC constituted the Peer Team consisting of Prof. M. Malla Reddy, formerly Vice-Chancellor of Osmania University as Chairman and Prof. D. S. Sivananda, formerly Professor of Education, Bangalore University as Member. The committee visited the institution on 24th January, 2000 and interacted with various departments with the Principal, the Management, parents, alumnae students and other functionaries. The Peer Team has recorded the data on various facets of institutional functioning and performance and prepared the following report in terms of their overall impression about the institution which are discussed under each parameter suggested by NAAC.
As this college is affiliated to the University of Madras, it has little freedom but to follow the curriculum prescribed by the university, both at B.Ed. and M.Ed. levels. The college offers the following seven programmes:
·
B.Ed.
·
M.Ed.
·
M.Phil.
·
Ph.D.
·
Post
Doctoral Fellowship and
·
Certificate
Course-Computers
·
Short-Term
Vocational Courses.
Many of the courses are conventional in nature, as the institution is an affiliated college. The college has applied for autonomy and the orders to this effect are awaited. If autonomy is granted it will be free from the constraints and will be in a position to redesign and restructure the present programmes to meet new demands and challenges. The college also envisages networking with industry especially with computer software in relation to education and with other sister institutions of the region.
At
present the college offers programmes for all-round development of personality
through a number of curricular and co-curricular activities. The trainees have
ample opportunity to exhibit and develop their talents in arts, oratory, sports
and games, singing, dancing and other asesthetic and creative ventures.
The college Management has about 18 co-operative schools where the trainees get trained in practice teaching. Teachers of these schools render lot of help to trainees in making their practice teaching meaningful and purposeful. The college has a “Womens’ Cell” through which a linkage is developed with the community to make women self-sufficient in terms of making them to earn and to become economically independent.
Curricular transaction is not only through lecturers but also it is carried out through team teaching, seminar and work-shops. The value component is given top-priority in the programmes.
Within constraints of the affiliating system, the college may respond to the pressing need for educators to respond to the phenomenal changes brought about by technology and by the conceptual revolution in the practice of pedagogy. It has come a long way from old classical psychological theories of teaching. The paradigm shift for practice through skills to skill acquisitive through cognitive and field exposure techniques can never be ignored. The CLT in language teaching is an instance in point. A corporate institutional exercise may help.
The students for B.Ed. are selected based on their performance in the test administered by the state government, which is aimed to assess their aptitude and attitude. The college helps the academically poor students by organising the remedial programmes to overcome their deficiencies.
The college has 11 members
on the staff. Of them, 5 have with Ph.D’s, and 4 M.Phils and the two, M.A and
M.Ed. Since the workload of the teachers is heavy, the Management has made
temporary appointments to ease the pressure of work, on regular teachers.
The college has a very well
established technology lab. The laboratory consists OHP; VCR, 16-mm film
projector, slide and filmstrip projector. They are meaningfully used to
supplement classroom teaching. Each student has to prepare slides, filmstrip
and teaching aids that they use in their classroom teaching.
The evaluation of student
performance in theory is carried out through regular tests, assignments,
seminars etc. Their practice teaching is evaluated on the basis of their
performance in the classroom. Students are oriented towards the evaluation
procedures adopted by the college at the beginning of the year. The evaluation
process is based on scientific principles and each student is allowed to grow
according to his pace.
Faculty members are deputed
to attend various educational programmes organised by universities, Academic
Staff College, and other national bodies, which enable them to grow
professionally.
There is a good mechanism of assessing the work of the teacher educators by the students. There is a grievance cell to look into the problems of students regarding the evaluation of students by the teachers.
Criterion III:
Research, Consultancy and Extension
The college is aware of the need and importance
of research in Education, it has therefore, made “Research Work(Thesis)”
compulsory at M.Ed., without the alternative optional paper in its place. The
quality of the work turned out by M.Ed. students, is satisfactory. As research
level scholars they have addressed themselves to the problems in the area like
cognitive development educational administration, learning abilities of special
children, primary education, environment and ecology etc. Many members of the
staff are also actively engaged in research. Some of them have done research
and have published in national and international journals. Some have authored
books in education in Tamil and English. In all, 6 books and 22 research papers
have been published by the existing faculty.
The college also offers
consultancy service to research scholars, helping them in developing good
research designs and also in selecting appropriate statistical technique to
test the hypotheses. Service is also rendered in the actual analysis of the
data. Some staff members are recognized guides of Madurai Kamaraj University.
The college believes in the
three main functions: teaching, research and extension. Members of the staff
periodically organize programmes for the benefit of teachers working in various
secondary schools in the area of innovative in teaching, lesson-planning,
constructing quality test items etc., thereby helping their teachers to keep
abreast of the changes taking place in the field of education.
Criterion IV:
Infrastructure and Learning Resources
The college has good infrastructure facilities
in terms of building, laboratory, library and hostel, well-furnished
auditorium. The facilities available are adequate enough for the intake of 180
teacher trainees. Efforts are made to have some additions to meet the future
demand.
The college has a vast
playground wherein the trainees can have their physical education activities
and also sports and games. The facilities for indoor games like chess, carrom,
table tennis are available. The premises of the college are kept very clean and
tidy.
The library has about 11481
books and 40 journals, which the Management proposes to computerise. In
addition there is a book-bank facility. The library works from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., so that B.Ed. students and the
research scholars can make the maximum use of library facilities.
Computer facilities are also
available for all students. The computer department has 7 computers and is
managed by a technically qualified person. The computers are periodically checked
and properly maintained. The college also has a guest house.
The science and psychology
laboratories are very well equipped. The physical science laboratory and
biology laboratory have all the equipment to carry out experiments by the
teacher trainees while doing their practice teaching. The psychology lab has a
number of tests of various types and the teacher-trainees have to administer
them either individually or in a group and submit the report for valuation. The
psychology lab includes tests to measure intelligence, attitude, aptitude,
interests etc.
The college has a very well
maintained hostel and a high-level of discipline is kept. Parents hold the
institution in high esteem, which they expressed during their interaction.
Criterion V:
Student Support and Progression
The college offers a wide range of facilities
for the student support and progression. It
publishes a prospectus at the beginning of each academic year covering
the philosophy of the institution and highlighting the advantages in pursuing
knowledge at this reputed institution. The prospectus also contains course
designs of B.Ed., M.Ed., programmes and various optional subjects, that are
offered at different levels. The information on fee structure, attendance
requirement etc. are included in the prospectus.
Admission to the college is
made according to the admission policy of the state government and norms laid
down for minority institutions. Under this criteria 50% seats are filled by
Management under the “Management Quota”, and the rest of the 50% seats are
filled by the state government following the reservation policy etc. A large
member of students apply for the B.Ed. programme and admissions are made by
with entrance examination and viva-voce. The college has been
maintaining excellent results with 100% passes, which include several
distinctions and ranks university examinations.
The drop out rate is nil and
the institution obtains regular feedback from students. There is a placement
cell, which is organised under the guidance of a placement officer, and
teachers of the college participate in extending guidance in these matters to
students.
The state government grants a large number financial aids to needy and deprived students SC, ST, MBC and BC. The Management offers 9 Scholarships, Student Aid Fund for 3 and 18 endowment prizes. The college also offers several sports and recreational facilities, which include indoor games, outdoor games, debate clubs, student magazine, cultural programme, audio-video, dance, music and essay writing competitions.
The college is managed by a governing Body. The
Governing Body consists of the Bishop
of Coimbatore as the president and the Mother-General as the
Vice-president and Secretary, the Principal of the college as Treasurer. It has
6 other members including the university representative. The major function of
the body is to make decisions regarding finances, facilities, appointment of
teacher-educators. The Governing Body assess the need for man-power requirement
and also to recruit the required staff.
The college also has a
College Council headed by the Principal. All the members of the faculty are its
members. In addition, the college has various committees like building
committees, fund raising-expenditure committee, research committee etc., to
look into their working.
The college has a
well-developed teaching and non-teaching staff. There are welfare schemes such
as financing for higher education and exempting from payment of fees, and such
as other benefits as admissible to government employees. The grievance redressal mechanism is also
there, to look into the grievances of the teaching and non-teaching. The college also has an inbuilt mechanism to
check the work efficiency of the non teaching staff in administration, and
finance.
The college intends to have
more autonomy and is planning to adopt changes for the latter. The college mobilizes funds from different
sources like donations, fund raising drives, from alumni of the college,
consultancy, self financing courses, etc. The funds mobilized by them are just
enough to maintain the annual expenditure of the college. The college is financially sound.
Ø The college has adopted many healthy practices, which have become almost an integral part of the regular curriculum. Under this practice, it organizes free medical camps for creating health awareness among rural people and also extending benefits of treating visual problems with the help of experts in the field. The college also organizes blood donation camps and hygiene orientation programmes annually.
Ø Teaching of values: with the
help of Dharma Bharath, In this programme extension lectures are given on
family life, national integration, freedom movement, life history of great men,
etc.
Ø Childcare is another important concern of this institution. Mothers are given orientation in techniques of child rearing practices and their significance.
Ø There is a well-conceived Tutorial System in the institution, which enables students and teachers to interact on many issues covering professional and personality interests of students. This gives an opportunity for students to seek guidance from teachers on matters, of great significance.
Ø The practice of teacher evaluation by student is exemplary. However, it is desirable to evolve a pragmatic criterion to get a scientific and objective evaluation of teachers by students.
Ø The college organizes the talent day session for two days giving opportunity to display the talents of individual students in various walks of life, professional, aesthetics, fine arts and cultural, etc. This is a worthy attempt.
Ø The college organizes a three day orientation programme in areas like friendship, behaviour of students, personality development and how to interact with others. The importance of this approach needs no over emphasis.
Ø Meditation retreat: The college organizes meditation retreats to protect students from several distractions of the modern world and changing environment which is in conformity with the expectations of the parents and general community.
Ø The college conducts one hour common prayer every week and prayer meeting every day in the morning. A course on Bagavat Geetha, the Bible and the Quran form a strong source of secular education in the institution.
Ø The college conducts monthly staff meetings to enable teachers and the Principal to review the progress made in teaching-learning processes, student behaviour, syllabus covered, the resource mobilization, etc – a healthy practice.
Ø The college organises programmes for developing computer knowledge in all the students.
Section 3:
Overall Analysis
Stella Matutina College of Education is an institution with a difference in the field of education in the region. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras and funded by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The college is trying for its autonomy, which is under active consideration of the University Grants Commission.
The college was founded in 1961
with the philosophy of preparing ideal teachers for secondary and primary
schools and also promoting research in teacher education for the benefit of
scholars who want to pursue M.Phil. and Ph.D.
The college is situated in more than 5 acres in the centre of Chennai in
eco-friendly climate with beautiful ambience.
The college has a long history and great tradition of producing many
eminent teachers in the field of education and therefore the institution enjoys
justifiable pride.
The institution being a
single faculty college is small in size and exists in the shape of a close knit
community with rich facilities. The college has well-built hostels providing
accommodation to a large number of students depending on the request from pupil
teachers. At present 140 students reside in the hostel with a hub of
intellectual, social and cultural activities organized around the entire
academic year. Apart from residential
facilities , many learning opportunities like TV, VCR, recreation room, prayer
room etc. form a part of hostel life. The Management has undertaken further
expansion of these facilities for the
future, keeping in view its master plan.
The college offers B.Ed.,
M.Ed. and Ph.D. with curriculum
prescribed by the University of Madras to which it is affiliated. Despite the
fact that the curriculum is designed by several national institutions like
NCTE, there is considerable scope for improvement. The college proposes to
re-construct the curriculum with innovative approaches after attaining autonomy
in the near future.
The performance of college
in research, consultancy and extension is unmistakably progressive and
commendable. Thus based on the overall performance of the institution, its
strengths and weaknesses, the following recommendations are made for future
development of the institution.
1.
The
college should create an active alumni association and involve them in
developmental activities. At present
the college is able to interact with ex-students on an informal basis. It must
emerge into a regularly organised institutionalised programme.
2.
The
college has been established for preparation of teachers. It must undertake projects on
teaching-learning processes and publish for the benefit of secondary and
primary schools. For instance, many
operational researches can be undertaken on classroom dynamics etc. and
findings of research can be made available to teachers and schools in the
region
3.
As
the college aims at preparation of ideal teachers, it is recommended to promote
good communication skills among students, both in English as well as in the
regional languages. Therefore the
college should create a language-laboratory for promoting these vital skills
among students without further loss of time.
4.
The
college is organises several enrichment programmes. It is recommended in this connection that the college should
develop concrete guidelines covering various important areas relevant to this
programme.
5.
The
Peer Team is informed that the college has applied for autonomy and it is under
active consideration of the University Grants Commission. The college richly
deserves autonomous status, in view of its proud record of achievements and
best academic performance.
6.
The
college must introduce an element of empirical research at the B.Ed. level to
enable the pupil teachers to undertake operational research as teachers during
their service. This can be done in the
form of a study of primary and secondary schools and problem students.
7.
The
teachers of the college may undertake, as a team, atleast one interdisciplinary research project on instructional
technology and contribute to improvements in the learning processes in schools
on continuous basis.
8.
The
Management should include a few distinguished scholars from the area of teacher
education on the Governing Council who can contribute through their ideas and
advice, for unfolding the potentiality of this institution further.
We place our appreciation on
record for the warm welcome and cooperation extended in the evaluation of the
institution.
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