Prof Sham Lal Gupta
Padam Shree Padma Sachdev Govt. College for Women, Gandhinagar, Jammu has given a very heartening news by getting awarded A++ Grade with CGPA 3.64 making it a distinctive Higher Education Institution not only in J&K UT but the country as a whole. The women college Gandhinagar happens to be a Government institution. It is really a noteworthy achievement for a Government institution (college) for getting this coveted grade. This seems to be the first Govt. College in the J&K UT to have got this distinction putting aside the notion that government institutions are not doing well in imparting quality education to the students. This exercise was conducted by the NAAC Bangalore on 3rd-4th January 2024. This process is highly rigorous in which the institutions are evaluated on the basis of 7 criteria on a 4-point scale. The credit for this accomplishment goes to the Principal, the teaching and non-teaching staff, students, alumni, the Department of Higher Education and the society at large each contributing in different ways. The 7 criteria of the NAAC are, Curricular Aspects, Teaching-Learning and Evaluation, Research, Innovations and Extension, Infrastructure and learning Resources, Student Support and Progression, Governance, Leadership and Management, Institutional values and Best Practias.
The spirit of this achievement must by widely appreciated and encashed by the Department of Higher Education J&K-UT by encouraging, motivating and preparing, many other colleges of the (J&K) UT for NAAC Assessment and Accreditation in a mission mode. The department needs to celebrate this breaking news and organise seminars and conferences to disseminate some of the best practices of this college so that the idea of excellence flows from this college to the rest of the colleges of (J&K). There are good number of colleges in the J&K UT which can bring higher grades with commendable CGPA provided the idea of excellence is imbibed by these colleges. Some of the Government colleges are having great potential of getting rewarded with higher grades in J&K UT. It is pertinent to mention that in the future the grants of the colleges will be linked to grades and CGPA earned by them. Moreover, such colleges can become a pride for the J&K UT as well as for the country as a whole. Students will prefer to seek admission in these colleges and successfully shape their careers. The teachers and non-teaching staff will also feel proud of being a part of this college. There are approximately 43000 Colleges in the country out of which only 11000 have been accredited. 546 Colleges have earned A Grade, 319 A+ Grade and only 87 have got A++ Grade. This shows that the Government College for Women Gandhinagar has earned a very important place on the national map by becoming A++ College.
The Department of Higher Education of J&K UT must declare this college as a Lead College which can impart leadership to many other colleges of J&K. Very soon this college must be declared as an Autonomous College which will plan its own courses most of which will be innovative, job-oriented through proper MOUs and collaborations with industry and top class institutions of higher learning in the country. The stakes of the college have gone sky high because such ratings allow the college to open its doors to the students from outside the J&K UT and even to foreign students. The College now will seek huge funding and even acquire autonomy to grant degrees. It is very important to place on record that the validity of this ranking is for five years. The college will have to strive very hard to maintain such a high CGPA. This is going to be a very big challenge for the future administrators to maintain this rank. It needs sincere efforts of the college to continuously work to sustain quality initiatives on a sustainable basis. The IQAC of the college need to plan and prepare road map for the value addition and spiritually follow the plan in order to maintain the CGPA earned during the recent Cycle of Assessment and Accreditation.
Now the P.S.P.S Govt. College for Women Gandhinagar has become an institution of Excellence properly assessed and accredited by the NAAC, Bangalore through a proper and well organised process. Great institutions of education are not only known by their buildings or other infrastructure. These are known by their products in the shape of Alumni. The alumni speak of an institution and its quality. The students of Govt. College for Women Gandhinagar are highly confident about their skills and knowledge imparted by the college. Its Alumni are well placed and are playing an important role in the society at different positions. Govt. College for Women Gandhinagar is properly located on the main road, with proper infrastructure including playground, multi-purpose hall, labs, library and fully equipped student friendly class rooms. The faculty of the college is highly educated and many of them have made rich contribution in research journals of national and international eminence. Some of the faculty members have registered their Patents and a few Patents have been granted by the concerned agencies. It needs to be emphasized that this college is known for sharing its infrastructure with other institutions and organisations. The College has the distinction of organising various outreach programmes for the neighbourhood community and many rural areas of Jammu, particularly in the field of empowering women belonging the marginalised sections of the society.
Moreover, the Principal is proactive and visionary leading a team of the faculty, non-teaching staff and the students which has resulted in earning the highest CGPA in J&K UT. I am sure many more colleges of the J&K UT will follow the healthy tradition set by the P.S.P.S Government College for Women Gandhinagar (J&K) and make it a hub of higher education. The Department of Higher Education has created support system including proper funding to all the Colleges of the J&K UT to undergo the NAAC process. Therefore, all the colleges need to take the benefit of this pro-active approach by the Department and earn Higher Grades. This need to start on a war footing and in a mission mode.
(The author is former Director Colleges, Higher Education Department J&K)
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