Kalyancollegeturnsmentorforeight

BOON FOR STUDENTS BK Birla College will guide mentee colleges to adopt innovative education practices and improve quality of education

KALYAN: Thousandsofcollegestudents in the twin city of KalyanDombivli will get better quality education.

Eight educational institutes will have a mentor to help them improvethequalityofeducation.

BKBirlaCollegeinKalyanwas selectedbytheUniversityGrants Commission (UGC) to mentor eight colleges in its vicinity in October. Thecollegesselectedas mentees are from Kalyan, DombivliandBhiwandi—eitherthey have no accreditation or funds infrastructurefortheirstudents.

Around 50,000 students study inareasofKalyan,Dombivliand Bhiwandi. The commission has selectedawiderangeofcolleges, including night colleges, women’s colleges, management andInformationTechnology(IT) institutes to be mentored.

An official from UGC said, “There are many institutes in Vajreshwari and Bhiwandi which see a lot of students from rural areas. Some management and IT institutes are popular. However,theseinstitutesarenot accreditedduetosomeshortcomings. We had selected eight such institutes for the mentoring programme that will be guided by Birla College. The session will focus on norms to be fulfilled to get an accreditation,” added the officer.

The training session will includeadoptingnewinnovative educationpracticesandreforms.

The official added, “The student population in Kalyan DombivliandBhiwandihasincreased in the past decade. The qualityof education imparted also should improve. Most students look for better institutes in Mumbai or other Metro cities. They waste time and money in travelling to far-off colleges. The programme aimsatprovidingthesamefacilities near their homes.”

Headdedthatthecommission had earlier chosen five colleges, however,withthegoodfeedback the number was increased to eight. The number will further

› There are many institutes in Vajreshwari and Bhiwandi which see a lot of students from rural areas. However, these institutes are not accredited due to some shortcomings. UGC OFFICIAL

increase based on the demand.

Theofficialsaid,“Theaccreditationwillhelpthecollegestoget morefundstoaddmorecourses.

Also the accreditation will pave way for the colleges to get autonomy, like Birla College already has. Birla College is accredited regularly and is providing qualityeducationtostudentsofthese suburbs.So,wechosethecollege to mentor other institutes.”

Naresh Chandra, director of BirlaCollegesaidtheprogramme will help their college too, as it will be a learning experience.

“Most colleges are unaided and hence we have conducted training sessions to help them understandthefunctioning.One of the sessions was kept for collegestoknowaboutthebestpractices in each institute so that those can be adopted. We have assignedastaffmember tointeract with each college.”

Every institute focusses on various aspects of education, from night colleges to managementinstitutes.Whentheyallget together, they will share their ideasandpatternoffunctioning.

Some of these institutes cater toruralareasandreachingoutto students in these regions will be beneficial for their progress.

“Getting accreditation will have a great impact on the credibility,imageandfacilitiesofacollege. Itwillhelpthecollegetoadd infrastructure such as a wellequippedlaboratoryorlibrary.It will also improve the teaching process,makeitmoreinteractive andresearch-based,”saidShahid Ansari, education activist, Kausa.

› The woman has provided us with a description [of the accused] and we are on the lookout for him. OFFICER , Turbhe police station

Narayana Junior College, Kalyan, is one of the mentee colleges under BK Birla College.

BK Birla College, Kalyan, was selected by the UGC to mentor eight colleges in its vicinity in October. PHOTOS: RISHIKESH CHOUDHARY/HT