: Government Arts and Science College, Mettupalayam, is understood to be keen on getting itself evaluated by National Assessment and Accreditation Committee (NAAC) at the earliest, banking on notable improvements incorporated into the teaching-learning eco-system in recent years.
The college that came into being in 2016 could function with the full complement of faculty only from this academic session, to fruitfully engage up to 1,218 students, thanks to the recruitment of 26 guest lecturers two months ago.
Recognition under Section 2(f) and 12 (B) of the UGC Act, 1956, is due, and laboratories are also under construction that will carry credit for securing a respectable NAAC score, according to the Principal R. Sriganapriya.
The UGC recognition is what will qualify the college to receive government grants under various schemes.
Till last academic year, the college managed with its strength of 14 full-time faculty, to handle UG programmes in Economics, English, B. Com, B.Com with Computer Application, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics, and PG programme in Commerce.
Faculty addition with guest lecturers has implied improved duration of productive hours and qualitative teaching-learning activities in the campus, Prof. Sriganapriya said.
The college started off in temporary buildings on the premises of Karamadai Government Higher Secondary School with three under-graduate programmes in Economics, English and B.Com. The other programmes were introduced in the subsequent years.
The permanent campus of the college, located at Kuttaiyur on a 5.46 acres mostly caters to rural and tribal communities in and around Mettupalayam region. According to the college faculty, start of post-graduation in all the sanctioned UG programmes will be of immense use to the students, especially girls from poor socio-economic background, who usually drop out after UG due to the lack of access to further education. As for boys, many choose to take up underpaid jobs to sustain themselves and support their families.
“It is next to impossible for the families of the students, in general, to spend on their PG education in self-financed institutions in the surroundings or to travel to places as far as Coimbatore or Tiruppur for continuing their PG education in government colleges,” a senior faculty explained.
