Best Practices
The institutional best practices:
1) One of the notable best practices of our college is the efforts to “Strengthening Ties with the Community” to cultivate a sense of social responsibility in the students and inspire them for community service. Community service is exactly what it sounds like: services that one does to benefit the community. It can be done in lot many different forms to help folks out in the society and it starts from the very first day of formal schooling of a learner. Many of us in education and community development today realize that educational institutions alone cannot prepare our youth for productive adulthood. It is evident that educational institutions and communities should work closely with each other to meet their mutual goals. Appropriate and effective collaboration and teaming between community and educational institutions make the students self-sufficient in future. These services emphasize personal and community awareness among students. They need to learn to understand how actions are based on personal values and to reflect on and question their own values. If learners are to grow as individuals, it is essential that they engage with their own values and do not see service as a requirement or chore. They need to spend time and effort understanding the not just those who are high academic achievers. The culture of the school needs to evidence regular, sincere and widespread dialogue around service learning.
Community service ideally should be linked to a student’s passions, personal goals and ambitions. The college takes care of this and provides plenty of opportunities for those with particular skills to apply them to community service. These are as follows:
Students with aptitudes in disciplines like languages and mathematics tutor others.
Performing artists provide entertainment by hosting exhibitions and have their art inspired from activities in the community.
Students with leadership and entrepreneurial experience nurture and improve their knowledge as well as others.
Students participate in blood donation camps, plantation drives, cleanliness campaigns.
The college also organizes many social programs in partnership with community, shares college facilities and equipments with other institutions, collaborative fund raising is also done to help the needy, volunteer assistance by the college students for working with community, mentoring and training from professionals and others with special expertise information sharing and dissemination, share responsibility for planning, implementation and evaluation of programs and services like banking, expanding opportunities for internships with the help of different institutions in the society, securing jobs and recreation opportunities.
Educational Institutions -community partnerships can interconnect together many resources and strategies to enhance communities that support all youth and their families. These practices improve or strengthen neighbourhoods and lead to a noticeable reduction in young peoples problems. It gives students challenging, real service that engages them actively rather than as observers so that they feel that they are making a positive contribution. Students who do community service are more likely to do well in studies. The collage has adopted a village and works for its up-liftment in all senses.
2) The second notable best practice of our college is the efforts by the Students regularly taken to “Work for Marginalized”. The current climate of divisiveness, anger and fear in this country is having a significant impact on many individuals. Feelings of uncertainty are particularly heightened for communities and families struggling to understand and cope with hate-based violence, discriminatory or threatening actions or speech, and shifting policies that are causing new uncertainties for specific populations.
Time to time study tours and field work is a part and parcel of this best practice. It is mandatory practice for students of all the courses. Study tours help and encourage students to understand the realities about and status of these groups in the society. Both sociological and social work aspects must be covered as forced possible we organized important institutional visit ideal villages or community development projects, government and non government funding agencies also included. Besides this creation general relevant ideas may also be included like social cultural changes in the places / regions visited exchange of ideas and exposure to group life.
The students time to time work in the organizations like old age homes, orphanages and various NGOs. To practice with people at the margins of society. The college has got one ‘minor UGC project’ on the ‘rehabilitation of imprisoned women’. So, the students here are empowered through these kinds of educational and co-curricular tasks alike to be better citizens and leaders in fast-changing culture of the country. That is why reputed educational organizations come for campus placements and have also recruited many of our students in the previous years.
It is essential also that all prospective teachers and teacher educators not only understand the powers and processes that lead to disadvantage and marginalization but develop the knowledge and skills needed to bring about change and uphold social justice in all aspects of their professional practice.
3) Apart from these above two practices we also inculcate “Sensitivity and Responsibility towards Environment” in our students as environmental crisis is a burning issue from last two decades. To make the campus eco-friendly, the college maintains three ornamental gardens. We use scientific biodegradable waste management through vermi – compost pit and two manure pits (5 feet deep). Our college has developed comprehensive programs focusing on environmental challenges, prevention of water and plants. The college also inspires and educates students and staff about environmental issues, equipping them to make informed about the impact of their actions. Our college organises workshops, seminars and extension lectures on Environmental Awareness. The college also organises Tree Plantation Drive by NSS students which develops their concerns and responsibilities about their environment. The staff members and students are made aware in this regard through extension lectures which help them in keeping themselves healthy and develop positive well being. The college always concerns about keeping its surroundings, building and neighbourhood clean.
There are so many activities organised by the college from time to time in order to support different social causes like creating sensitivity and responsiveness about our surroundings. Our college is also providing books, notes, assignments, gadgets etc. It gives the opportunities to educators and students for more dynamic and interactive learning experiences that spark student’s engagement in this issue. Activities organised by the college also motivates the students and staff to improve their school, home, neighbourhood based on what they learn in their college and classrooms. We are also helping to prepare 21st century workforce faced with increasingly complex environmental issues. Sustainable Landscaping and Organic Farming is very important step taken by the college to sow its concern regarding environmental sensitivity. Many practices are also followed in order to conserve energy like natural ventilation and lighting in the building, energy efficient lights in all classrooms and laboratories, paper- less office. The college has a proper ‘College Beautification Committee’ to make the campus eco-friendly. The college has eco clubs and has signed MOU with a local NGO- ‘ECO AMRITSAR’, an initiative started by local sikh community. Eco-Amritsar is an initiative begun by Sikhs but supported by a diversity of local stakeholders to make Amritsar a greener city, because it is a holy city. It helps the visitors and residents to be respectful of the natural environment in accordance with their religious beliefs, and for Amritsar to be a model of green action throughout the whole of India. It helps the City of Amritsar to reduce waste, conserve water, and expand greenery projects through tree plantings and open spaces. Its aim is for pilgrims coming to Amritsar to visit a clean green city, and to return home with ideas to improve their own footprint, and have (and pass on) a sense that being faithful is being gentle to the planet. The college students time to time voluntarily give their services for this noble cause.
Consciousness and Sustainability in the College is also taken care by some activities like awareness move for Plastic-free college campus, Extension lectures on, “Environmental consciousness and sustainability” to develop a mindset to Save Environment for their future generation, organization of cleanliness rallies under the National Cleanliness Drive- “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”, launched by the Modi government on Mahatama Gandhi’s birth anniversary. “Tree- plantation” move by NSS students inside and outside college campus involving all students and teachers by making compulsory to plant at least five plants by each of them. The college follows the tradition of offering plant saplings to honour the guests in the various college functions.