Best Practice 1 -

Mission of the College:
Sonapur College was established with a mission to impart higher education among the students of the locality and to create an environment for the intellectual, ethical, moral and physical upliftment of the people, belonging to tribal communities, by preserving their heritages and exposing the students to modern technologies to make them aware of their rights and duties for the betterment of the society.

Vision of the College
To strengthen the communities with the spirit of Higher Education by upholding the ethos of intellectuality and value orientations for a sustainable society

Best Practice-1

**Title of the Practice: Fostering Gram Swaraj: Commitment beyond campus**

The Context:

Sonapur College, since its inception focuses on building a strong linkage with the people of the neighbouring villages that mostly belong to tribal communities. This specific approach can be explicitly attributed to the fact that the college is founded exclusively with the funds raised by the public. Therefore, the college deemed it a moral obligation to address the societal needs and contribute to redress the problems faced by the people of the neighbouring villages. Keeping in mind all these and in a bid to uphold its mission, the college adopted a village, Dikchak, in 2003 and took initiatives for Community Development. Besides, with a motive to instil a sense of civic responsibilities among the students and to introduce them to the ground realities, various extension and outreach activities are undertaken in other villages too through different units of the college.

Objectives of the Practice:

Accomplishment of societal commitment through initiatives of social and economic well being of the rural people by integrating knowledge into practice is one of the primary motives of the college. Instilling a strong sense of ethical and humanitarian values among the students, besides developing leadership quality among them is another fundamental objective behind the mission of ‘Village Adoption’ and other extension activities in the neighbouring area of Sonapur College.

The Practice:

Extension activities are a strong forte of the Sonapur College which exhibits an enduring commitment to the society as well as the nation. The various programmes initiated by the Extension Cell, NSS, NCC, Dr. Dhanjit Medhi Foundation, a registered Trust founded under the ambit of Sonapur College in memory of its late Former Principal, the College Student’s Union Society and different departments go beyond curriculum to foster social empowerment, livelihood security and improvement of the socio-economic standard of the people of the neighbourhood.

The multifaceted initiatives and practices undertaken by different societies, forums and units of the college in the form of extension and outreach programme depict the ethos of the college. A cross sectional view of all the activities and its services that extend to the society at large brings to the fore the importance that Sonapur College has ascribed in fostering the mission of transforming the neighbouring rural areas. The college seeks to align its activities to the national standard through a concerted effort of faculties, students and outsourced resources. The various initiatives and practices are as follows –

Life and Livelihood Initiatives at Dikchak

– Cattle health check-up camp at Dikchak
– Mushroom cultivation training programme at Dikchak
– Fruit processing and preservation training for women at Dikchak
– Special training for poultry farming at Dikchak
– Water Treatment plant (Improvement)
– Awareness programme on Public health, sanitation and health issues of women
– Pilot survey to assess potentiality of rural tourism in Dikchak Village by Department of TTM

Educational

– Teaching in feeder schools
– Peer Teaching by the English (M) students Department of English in Collaboration with Nartap High School
– Extension Education for HSLC Appearing Students at Sankardev Sishu Vidya Niketan Extension Education for HSLC Appearing Students
– Extension Education Programme at Hahara Anchalik College
– Workshop on Language Skills for English Classrooms for High School Level English Teachers was organised by the Department of English in
Association with the Assam Chapter of ELTAI on February 15. 2019.

Health and sensitization

– Health Awareness Programme (Padayatra) at Kamakhya Dham, Khetri by NCC 1^st Battalion (Sonapur College Unit)
– Sonapur Cyclothon titled, “Let’s Ride for Health” by NCC 1^st Battalion, Sonapur College in collaboration with Sky Blue Foundation
– Community diseases and awareness

Environmental Awareness

– Plantation Programme at Sankardev Sishu Vidya Niketan by Sonapur College Extension Cell
– Plantation Programme at Jagannath Mandir, Mitoni by NCC 1^st Battalion, Sonapur College
– Cleanliness Drive at Sonapur Public Crematorium on Gandhi Jayanti by NSS Unit
– Swachh Bharat Programme in Five Primary Schools on the post Saraswati Puja Celebration

Moral and Intellectual Development

– All Dimoria Inter School Quiz Competition organised by ‘Dr. Dhanjit Medhi Foundation” was held at Khetri Adarsha Madhyamik Vidyalaya on April 4
– Financial support worth Rs. 22,000 to noted Litterateur Sri Murulidhar Das by Dhanjit Medhi Foundation

Conceptual enrichment of rural transformation:

In pursuance of and to strengthen the conceptual base for advancement of the mission an ICSSR sponsored National Seminar on “Transformation of Rural India: Challenges towards Sustainability” was organised in the college on 29 and 30 March, 2019. The seminar has yielded some valuable positive ideas.

Obstacles faced if any /strategies adopted to overcome them (150-200)

While augmenting the mission of fostering transformation of neighbourhood villages, Sonapur College is hindered with various obstacles. However, the different departments, cells and forums carry out the activities by mostly utilising own resources. The Government agencies and non-government organisations are approached for funding such activities. The frequently encountered problems are-

– Lack of scientific spirit owing to poor literacy level of the villagers is the major hurdles which dissuades them from accepting new ideas and incorporating new approaches into their lifestyle.
– Lack of motivation of the people especially towards entrepreneurial mindset.
– Limited financial resources of the college stand as a bigger hurdle for taking up capital intensive initiatives.
– Poor co-operation from different government agencies for carrying out outreach and extension activities.

Strategies to overcome the hurdles

– Efforts have been made in the form of awareness, guidance and support programmes for the academic and intellectual development of the upcoming generation of the society and thereby infuse them with the scientific spirit.
– In order to augment the mission of intellectual and socio-economic transformation of the rural areas around the college and to minimize the issue of financial hardship for the mission, the college has started the necessary communication for registering the college under ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ (UBA) under the Ministry of MHRD.

Impact of the Practice (100-120)

– The appreciation and the expression of gratitude by managements of the beneficiary schools where the special classes by the faculties and the peers were held indicates the level of success of the programmes.
– When the College adopted the Dikchak village in 2003, there was only one matriculate in the village. But today, we have a large number of matriculates, intermediates, graduates and post-graduates. Most of them are pursuing their studies from Sonapur College.
– There are four Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the village formed after the adoption of the village. These SHGs are working towards financial self-sufficiency by engaging in mushroom cultivation, poultry rearing etc.
– The impact of cleanliness drives, awareness programmes etc. could be gauged from the fact that the villagers have become environmentally conscious. They keep their roads and households very clean and the bamboo dustbins provided by the college are found in the village.
– The purifier cum reservoir constructed for the spring water tapping in the adopted village is now providing continuous flow of water for drinking as well as irrigation, besides other household uses.

Resources Required

Both financial resources and technically sound human resource is required for augmenting the extension and outreach programme in the neighbouring villages. The fund currently available for such initiatives is not sufficient. It is expected that through approval of schemes under UBA, the college would be able to deliver service to the community as per the requirements of the villagers. Capacity building programmes for students and faculty and active networks with alumni can provide enhanced scope for meaningful work.

About the Institution

Name of the Institution: Sonapur College

Year of Accreditation: First Cycle-2004

Second Cycle-2014

Address: Vill.-Barkhat

P.O.-Sonapur

District-Kamrup (M), Assam

PIN-782402

Grade awarded by NAAC: B

E-Mail:principalsonapurcollege@gmail.com

Contact person for further details:

Dr. Devabrot Khanikor, Principal

Mobile Phone No- +91 9435354374

Dr. Biman Patowary, Coordinator, IQAC

Mobile Phone No- +91 9435342864

Website : www.sonapurcollege.ac.in

Best Practice-2

Title of the Practice: Skilling the New Generation (Skilling for Resilience)

CONTEXT

In an era of globalisation, digitalisation and in the face of an ever-increasing army of educated unemployed, building a career without possessing specific skills, be it technical, soft or life skills seems to have become next to impossible. In the present context, skill development has therefore, become an important pillar of growth in the significant transition of a generation. Today, a competency enhancement approach turns out to be the need of the hour to create ‘resilient’ human resource which is adaptable to the changing scenario of global employment trends. It is relevant not only for the growth of a nation in the broader context but also for channelizing the potentiality of the students in an appropriate way. Thus, the cardinal focus of Sonapur College, in compliance to its mission and vision commitments, is to put special emphasis on developing such skill and resilience in students, to cope with future challenges, and survive.

OBJECTIVE OF THE PRACTICE

A zealous commitment to its cherished mission, worrying scenario of mass unemployment inspite of prevalence of myriads of explored and unexplored areas of job opportunities, has prompted Sonapur College to take up various skill enhancement initiatives for the students. Sonapur College sincerely believes that the confidence and competency building of the students while introducing them to job opportunities and challenging responsibilities in the upcoming sectors are the key towards building a strong human resource.

THE PRACTICE

Sonapur College has maintained a long run practice of developing skills among the students within and beyond the framework of course curriculum. The necessity of it was felt more because of its location in a rural setting, due to which the students of the locality need to be specially groomed to enable them to cope with their counterparts from the cities with all facilities. At the same time, the endeavour of the college is to act as a platform for the students belonging to the rural milieu to hone their latent talents.

Besides offering three Bachelor of Vocational courses (B.Voc) in Retail Management & IT, Tourism & Travel Management and Theatre and Stagecraft, the college is also currently offering Certificate Courses on Yoga, Spoken English and Computer Basics. The B.Voc courses are funded by UGC and follow the curriculum of Gauhati University aligned to National Skill Development Council (NSDC).

Moreover, there are a number of practices in the college which essentially provide the much-required boost to its skill enhancements initiatives. The college believes that the latent talents of the students which they express unconsciously gives a window to understanding their qualities. The forte of the students which can be further groomed to develop them into individual blocks of a confident and resilient work force, the college adopts an unconventional approach towards skill enhancement by incorporating technical, soft and life skills. The salient features of such practices are –

Speaking and writing skill:

Special training and competitions are regularly arranged for enhancement of speaking and writing skill. These competitions play an important role in identifying students interested in public speaking so that specialised sessions can be held for them.

Beauty and Wellness:

The girl students are given an opportunity to develop their skills in beauty and wellness not only for self-application but also to build their career. The college holds short term courses on Beauty and Wellness. It also provides them with a platform for competitions of Fashion and Beauty Pageants. These help them in identifying related career options.

Sona Harvest:

Sona Harvest is a specially designed sales outlet where the students can make, display and sell their hand made artefacts, mostly traditional handicrafts and household agro-products. This outlet is designed to develop an entrepreneurial mindset amongst the students.

Peer Teaching:

The Peer teaching by the UG students in the feeder schools and by PG students in the UG Classes helps in building their teaching skills and confidence while making them realize their role in society building.

Managerial Skill and Leadership:

The students are provided with the opportunity to manage the events in the college like College Week, Freshers’ Social, Saraswati Puja, NE India Inter-College Debate Competition, Gauhati University Youth Festival etc. In these events, the responsibility right from venue arrangements, conducting the meetings, VIP reception, catering etc. is entrusted to the students.

On job trainings:

The OJT’s in different companies/ business houses by the students of B. Vocational Courses enables them to enhance competencies for different jobs and entrepreneurial ventures.

Skill of traditional handicrafts:

Being an institute located in a rural area with predominantly tribal people, traditional craft is the most familiar practice. The college provides a platform to the students by organising workshops, competitions etc. for their qualitative enhancement and exposure for commercial venture.

Theatrical Skill:

Regular theatre workshops and production of plays give an outlet to the skills of the students interested in theatre and allied fields. The students are also given various assignments from the college authority to make and edit college videos for use by the college authority.

Life Skill Workshops:

Building resilient community being the focus of Sonapur College, various motivational workshops that focus on self-focus, communication, critical thinking, engaged learning, facing adversity etc are regularly held. In various instances, suggestions and feedback regarding certain issues are solicited from the student community to enhance their life skills.

Obstacles faced if any, strategies adopted to overcome them

Despite being an initiative that has been given significant attention by the college, the mission of ‘Skilling the new generations’ often faces obstacles that decelerates its pace leading to occasional failure in producing the desired outcome. However, over the years the implications of such obstacles have been reduced with institutional and individual support. The major obstacles are:

– Insufficient fund and non-availability of qualified faculty to start new skill- based Certificate/Diploma courses.
– Lack of motivation of the students towards the importance of skilling is a big hurdle. Instead of enrolling in the skill-based courses, the students prefer to pursue only the general courses.
– Presumptive mindset of the students with typical inclination towards salaried services, especially Government Services than entrepreneurship.
– Reluctance in the part of the reputed corporates to absorb the graduates of these courses is another reason of failure to stimulate the students to join the Vocational Courses.
– The college is continuously pursuing the Government of Assam as well as the private sector industries for funding short term certificate courses and B. Voc Courses. As far as the motivation of the students towards the skill-based courses is concerned, there have been continuous attempts for wide publicity through different media besides orientation programme.

Impact of the Practice :

Various positive implications can be attributed to the initiatives of Sonapur College for skilling the new generations over the year. For example, the initiatives for the enhancement of oratory skill and leadership quality have produced debaters and brilliant student leaders like the General Secretary of Gauhati University Students Union who have brought laurels to the institute. The students of the college have received special complements from the DSW, Gauhati University for their outstanding managerial skills displayed in the Zonal Youth Festival hosted by the college. Similarly, many of the alumni seem to have managed to carve echelon in the world of fashion, film and television world as actors, make-up artistes, craftsmen etc. The bamboo made artefacts of the students; especially dustbins have received wide acclamation in the state.

Resources Required:

In order to augment the mission of ‘Skilling the New Generations’, the college needs both financial and human resources. Financial resource is needed primarily to initiate new skill development programme in the college. New short-term training programme for craftsmen like plumber, electrician, mobile repairing would be quite instrumental to fulfil their demand in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam which is only 25 kms away from the college. The college needs support from the concerned authority for the same.

About the Institution