Best Practice-I (Environment Sensitization)

1.Title: Environment Sensitization – A Step Ahead from Theory to Practice
2.Goal: To create a clean and green campus with an environmentally conscious student community, aiming at understanding issues of environmental concern and ecological imbalance and trying to address them.

• In a way, the College is sensitizing students towards supporting the three R‘s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle)
• Over the years the student members of the NSS and Women Cell have been actively participating to protect the environment. This has been taken forward by organising environmental awareness campaigns, conducting different competitions, educational programs and by attending various seminars and conferences on the environment.
• The context: The environment related activities began way back in 1997 with a handful of students and staff members pooling in their resources to create environment consciousness within the college. The college decided to move forward with three pillars of environmental concern –pollution, the growing waste and the conservation of biodiversity as its major programme. There have been hurdles in organizing such activities due to paucity of funds. However, the college is taking concrete measures in building environmental consciousness among the youth who would then spread this message into the wider society.

3. The practice: Our goals have been put into practice through the following initiatives:

• Anti-Tobacco Campaign:  The College also focused on the Anti-Tobacco campaign with active participation from the student community. Poster Competition was organized to create the awareness.
• Plastic Free Campus: The programme aims to reduce plastic pollution in the college campus with special focus on the reduction and elimination of plastic bottles, plastic straws, utensils and plastic food packaging. Instead of buying bottled water students are encouraged students to use refillable like stainless steel bottles or glasses instead of plastic bottles.
• Anti Cracker Campaign- Before Diwali, NSS organised an Anti-Cracker Campaign creating awareness with a catchy slogan “Crackers are of no use, they are just Environmental Abuse”, through banners, posters and slogans.
• Tree Plantation Drive: The College organizes Tree Plantation regularly in monsoon season with students in the college premises. Free Saplings and seeds were distributed to the faculty members and students. These saplings are also planted in the college campus.

• Energy Management: The College implemented various methods to save energy. Solar panels system is already in operation that reduces carbon foot print. The LED bulbs are in use in the campus.

• Waste Management: Students are made aware of waste segregation and provision is made for this in the campus. Separate dust bins are provided to collect degradable and non-degradable wastes in wet and dry forms.

• Creating Environment awareness: Best out of waste, Poster making, Card making, Essay writing competitions are organised for creating environmental awareness in the students.

• Other Practices: The Environment Education is a part of the curriculum. The students are made to understand the value of clean and green environment. Efforts have been made to reduce energy consumption in the college by arranging energy awareness programmes by putting stickers like “Switch-off the equipment and lights when not required” on switch boards and all concerned places.

4. Evidence of Success:

• Our students have been responsible in raising environmental consciousness beyond the college premises as part of the Community Extension Programs. This has been done in the form of Rally to reduce the environmental pollution and saying NO to tobacco, plastic and crackers.
• Our success is also reflected in the initiatives which cover diverse environmental sectors which includes reducing our carbon footprint by shifting to renewable solar energy (taking up solar panelling of the college building rather than using the traditional electricity through thermal power).
• Our Green Initiatives are part of the culmination of the student’s efforts to build a green and clean campus.
• On the whole, it has been a satisfactory journey and the college looks forward to strengthening it by making programme more extensive.

6. Obstacles faced and strategies adopted to Overcome:

The financial resources had always been a big constrain in the success of organizing these programs. The coordination from external agencies is solicited in practice. These programs need to be organized in collaboration with external agencies to let people of the area understand the importance of environment cleanliness and up gradation of the surroundings.

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Best Practice-II (Fostering Social Responsibility)

1.Title of the Practice: Fostering Social Responsibility
2. Goal

• To instill a sense of social responsibility in students.
• To engage the students in meaningful service that meets community needs.
• To equip the students with skills, attitude and knowledge to work with the disadvantaged sections of society.

3. The Context- The purpose of education is not just preparing the students for a livelihood but also to make them good citizens and above all good human beings. Values of caring and sharing with the less privileged are one of the important elements of such education. It is our collective responsibility to empower the underprivileged to become self-reliant so that they can live with respect and dignity. It is our duty to uphold the human rights of all disadvantaged sections of society. Our college encourages a lifelong ethic of community service.

4.The Practice- The College has a National Social Service unit which gives an opportunity to the students to work with various civil society organizations through camps. Around 100 students work with children from the underprivileged communities.

• The college organized many programs and events under Anandam course and NSS unit to foster social responsibility in students.
• Cloths toys and books collection drive was undertaken by a group of students and these were distributed among needy people in slum areas nearby.
• Awareness campaign on domestic violence (under human right issues) was organized by a group of students making women aware of their rights.
• Adult education campaign was organized by a group of students in nearby community.
• Child labour, save a girl child, “beti bachao beti padao” were some of the other projects undertaken by the students which inspired students providing them with concrete examples of social responsibility in action.
• These Student-led groups focused on social causes provide a program for collaboration and leadership development while addressing issues they care about.
• By implementing the above practices, a sense of social responsibility is cultivated in the student which empowers them to become not just successful professional and also engage and responsible citizen who contribute meaningfully to a sustainable world.

5. Evidence of Success: The press has given coverage to the work done by the National Social Service. Also several NGOs approach us for volunteers. The students have benefited a great deal. It has given them confidence in working with the community. It has been a process of self discovery for many.

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