St Joseph's College gears up for NAAC tag

SNS, DARJEELING, 30 JANUARY 21 : St Joseph's College in Darjeeling is gearing up for the third cycle assessment and accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) so as to ensure quality and competitiveness of the educational institution.

Established in 1927, the college has already been through two cycles of the NAAC accreditation with them being accredited with 'A' in the second cycle of accreditation in 2014.

"Continuous research and learning is the hallmark of St Joseph's. Faculty members with national and international research exposure in humanities and science make the institution a thriving place for research and learning. It is this persistent concern with quality in education that brings us to the visit by the NAAC peer team.The assessment and accreditation by the NAAC has become an integral part of Higher Education in India," the principal of the college, Fr Donatus Kujur, said in a statement.

The release maintains that the NAAC was established by the University Grants Commission in 1994 to ensure quality in Higher Education. The present third cycle of the assessment for the college is scheduled to be held on 1 and 2 February.

St Joseph's College was formed by the Jesuit Fathers with only four students and has grown phenomenally over the years with the present student strength being 2436, out of which around 52 percent are girls. The college boasts of 19 departments with most of them offering honours courses run by 85 faculty members.The press release further stated that 38 teachers have already completed their doctoral research which helps the college prioritize research and quality in teaching learning.

The release further said that some features that set the college apart were the Science Instrumentation Centre and Incubation Centre, which has the latest and cutting edge scientific instruments and machines, along with an Alternative Learning System in order to help those who aspire for the prestigious UPSC jobs such as IAS, IPS, IFS and the state civil service.The college, in collaboration with ALS, New Delhi. has started a coaching centre.

Among future plans include the college intention to be an NAAC & Paramarsha Centre in order to be able to offer help to institutions that are preparing for NAAC for the first time.

The college also intends to apply for autonomy as per the guidelines of National Educational Policy.

"The college will also actively seek to collaborate with other institutions in the area of student and faculty exchange in order to give greater academic and extra-curricular exposure to the students and faculty alike," Father Kujur said.

The College also undertakes community outreach programme in collaboration with the NGO, DLR Prerna.

"Such community outreach programmes have multiple advantages. Firstly, it exposes students to the hardships and suffering of the underprivileged section of society. This exposure is aimed at turning students into citizens with conscience. Such conscientization is the primary aim of Jesuit Education. Secondly, local community directly benefits from such outreach programmes," Fr Kujur added.