B.K.M. Science College, Valsad
NAAC report of Ballubhai Krishnalal Majmudar Science College
I. Introduction
The B.K.M. Science College, Valsad, Gujarat had requested NAAC, Bangalore, for a Peer Team Visit to be arranged, and accordingly, NAAC sent a Team under the Chairmanship of Professor Dr. V.Vilanilam to visit the College on 4th and 5th March, 2004 (vide letter from Dr. Latha Pillai of NAAC, NAAC/LP/PTV - Gujarat 2004 of 19-02-04).
The Principal of the College, Dr. P.G.Desai and Dr. Sunil I. Marjadi, the Steering Committee Co- ordinator made all arrangements for the NAAC Team's visit to all the Departments and support services of the College. The visit started at 9 a.m. on 4thMarch with a presentation by the Principal at his office.
Profile of the College
The B.K.M. Science College, Valsad, Gujarat, was established in 1957 under the dedicated initiative of several persons, particularly with the blessing of the late Morarji Desai, national leader and Prime Minister of India who also served as the Founder-President of the Trust registered for the promotion of the College. The College was named after the late Ballubhai Krishnalal Majmudar, a noted industrialist and founder of the Atul Products Ltd., near Valsad, who took keen interest in establishing the College for serving the community of Valsad, a beautiful coastal area with a rich tribal population and abundant biodiversity.
The College is situated in a beautiful green campus of 63 acres and it has great promise as an institution of higher learning and research in keeping with the local and regional needs of the District of Valsad and nearby areas.
II. CRITERION - BASED EVALUTION:
CRITERION I - Curricular Aspects
Affiliated to the South Gujarat University, Surat, the B.K.M Science College is a grant-in-aid College, with seven undergraduate courses (B.Sc. Chemistry, Botany, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Computer Applications and Microbiology). There are three Postgraduate programmes leading to the M.Sc degree in Chemistry, Mathematics and Botany. The PG course in Chemistry was started in 1962 and that in Mathematics in 1984. M.Sc. Botany was started in 2001.
The College has M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes, besides self-financing courses in Computer Science, Computer Applications, Microbiology and Post Graduate Diploma in Medical Technology (PGDMT).
The self-financing courses generated almost 40 lakhs of rupees in the last academic year. The later additions to the course offerings are certainly career-oriented.To the extent possible in an affiliated College, there is initiative in curriculum design but the College is not free to design curriculam according to modules incorporating the latest developments; nor is it free to design new courses on the basis of local needs. Most of the time, the College implements the curriculum designed by the South Gujarat University to which it is affiliated.
The College must initiate steps to introduce the interdisciplinary approach, especially in consultation with the needs of the local industrial units. It is certainly on the way to incorporating the latest national and global needs since it has introduced courses in Computer Science and Computer Applications, besides Microbiology and a PG Diploma in Medical Technology.
However, there is great scope for expanding the educational and socioeconomic activities of the College, utilizing the vast area of 63 acres and taking into consideration the special needs of the target area - the tribal taluka of Dharampur, Pardi and Chikhili. For a rural and tribal area of its situation, the College can be legitimately proud of a few strengths: 1. The ample infrastructal facilities for further expansion of teaching research and extension; 2.
The offer of three PG programmes besides M.Phil. and Ph. D. programmes; 3. The opportunities which
larger numbers of young women are getting for higher education. Of the total number of 1652 students, 743 or nearly 45% are women and 4. High percentage of passes and first classes are noteworthy.
During 2001-2002 there was 83% pass at the UG level with 98 students securing first classes and 100% pass at the PG level (with 75% getting first classes. These are indeed commendable achievements.
However, new courses with more relevance to the area are needed. The Department of Chemistry, for example, with its long history of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research, can think of more diversification. Industrial Chemistry, Metallurgy, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Food Chemistry, etc. can be started. The Department has got a fine team of teachers who are researchers and have published many papers in important journals.
The annual system may be changed to the Semester System. A credit-based semester system (CSS) may be introduced so that curricular aspects may be strengthened. Of course, this depends on the University decisions, but within the available autonomy, teachers can innovate and strive for larger autonomy.
CRITERION II: Teaching Learning and Evaluation
Admissions to the various courses of study in the College are mainly based on the academic record of the students in their previous examination. While admitting the students for various courses, the policy of reservation of the Government of Gujarat is observed. There is no provision for assessing students' nowledge and skills before or after admission to a particular programme. Normally admissions are given to all the students who apply for the same. The admitted students are also permitted to pay the fees in nstalments on request. Admissions from first year to M.Phil and Ph. D. are given on the basis of cademic record; no entrance examinations are conducted for admissions at any level.
The College conducts midterm examinations and gives home and class assignments during the year. The Internal Assessment is made to the extent of 30 marks out of 100 marks. The students are informed about the schedules of tests, assignments etc quite in advance at the beginning of the year. The performance of the students is reviewed from time to time
Classroom teaching is the main activity with traditional teaching method, i.e. lecture and using a black board. Very few departments use OHP and Charts for teaching in the class. Group discussion and seminars are also not used at the undergraduate level but at the PG level seminars are conducted as a part of the teaching learning activity. It was mentioned that a slide projector was available within the College, but it was not in regular use. Modern equipment like L.C.D is not available in the College.
The College conducts teaching activity for about 180 days in an academic year. Teachers take 18 ectures of 55 minutes each in a week. They remain on campus for about 5 hours a day and are available for guidance to the students on campus. Almost all the approved teaching posts are filled up on regular/ad hoc and full-time basis. Teachers are recruited according to the guidelines of the UGC and the South Gujarat University, Surat. Whenever a vacancy arises some of the teachers are appointed on an ad hoc basis although such appointments are not recognized by the S.G.University. It is a temporary adjustment to engage the classes as the Government of Gujarat does not permit new appointments. We did not find a single teacher appointed during the last two years on a regular basis in the College. The College is enjoying the freedom of appointment of ad hoc teachers and the salaries of such teachers are borne by the management.
A few of the teachers have attended national and international Seminars, but the majority of the teachers are either passive or ignorant about such conferences. The College does not have the self- appraisal method to evaluate the performance of the faculty in teaching, research and extension. The College does not have any other method to assess the performance of the teacher. The Principal of the College relies on the oral reports of the HODs. The College does not conduct any refresher course/seminar/workshop or any programme for faculty development. Teachers have attended the subject refresher courses and orientation programmes; as many as 21 teachers have attended Orientation course
