Striving for global education

CAMPUS WATCH

Seshadripuram First Grade College (SFGC), Bangalore has been catering to the needs of science, commerce and history enthusiasts for well over a decade. The college is one of the 24 educational institutions set up by the Seshadripuram Educational Trust (SET), a public charitable trust, established in the year 1980 by the Seshadripuram Educational Association.

Seshadripuram Group of Institutions was founded originally in 1930 by two educational enthusiasts — Anandamma and Seethamma who started a primary school with 20 children in two Mangalore-tiled rooms. And SFGC was set up in 1992 with the aim to ensure that each student achieves his/her academic potential. The secure and nurturing environment of the college is ideal for developing both personal and practical skills. SFGC has grown from strength to strength, and today the total student strength has grown to 3,000.

Situated on Yelahanka New Town Main Road, the college is 45 minutes away from MG Road and easily accessible. The college campus houses a main building in the shape of a square, a hostel unit with a sports area and grounds.

“The primary objective of education at SFGC is to create dynamic leaders in the corporate sector, entrepreneurs, academicians, researchers and professionals who contribute to the development of society and nation at large. At the same time, we believe that our students should develop as individuals, gain in self-confidence and develop a sense of enterprise,” says Dr M Prakash, Principal, Seshadripuram First Grade College.

The college primarily offers degree courses. These are: B.Com, BBA, BA (Arts, History, Political Science, and Kannada Literature), BSc (Microbiology, Biochemistry and Genetics), BCA and BBM. The only postgraduate course offered by SFGC is MBA. Due to popular demand, there are 5 batches of students in this stream alone. All day, students can be seen using the 164 classrooms, 25 laboratories and the central library.

Visitors to the campus will find that Seshadripuram First Grade College is a lively learning community where teachers strive to foster a sense of individuality and personal development. Students are encouraged to contribute towards the community as well as ensure that they benefit from it. Adds Dr Prakash, “I strongly believe that education is the key to the economic, social, environmental and political well being of an individual, a community and a nation. All individuals should be treated with dignity and respect, given opportunities to develop their special aptitudes, insights and equal opportunities to equip themselves for a fulfiling life and responsible citizenship. I tell my students to live up to that every day.”

With affiliation to Bangalore University for the 5 streams, the college also has tie-ups with several American and European universities like the North Eastern State of Oklahoma and Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education, UK.

Centre for global excellence

The core value of this educational model is that everything revolves around the students, who are offered the resources they need, to work on global academic development and add more weightage to their degree. The centre facilitates tie-ups with foreign universities, allowing students to travel abroad for a summer internship, a semester abroad, study tour, taster programme or participate in a short-term course abroad. “Through these links and projects, we have built a close working relationship at an international level. These partnerships provide dialogues that ensure we are influential and remain at the cutting edge,” says Neha Jain, Department of English, who also manages the Centre.

Digital monitoring

With increasing concern from parents over their child’s performance at college, the management went digital in 2009 for processes like attendance-taking, note-taking and monthly monitoring. The Attendance and Course Tracking System (ACTS), uses mobile technology to record, maintain and track a student’s attendance and to test his or her competence internally. A mobile-based registration software helps create an account for each student and the staff are given a login ID and password to access/ track information regularly. This has eliminated manual entries and attendance registers. Parents are sent daily/hourly updates via SMS through the automated communication service. SFGC is the first college to have tried and tested this practice, one that is liked and favoured by the staff and parents.

The application can also handle internal assessment marks cards, profile students, announce results and counsel.

On the side

The college actively supports and encourages students to participate in extra-curricular activities music, dance, theatre, film studies, life skills programmes, etc. The college is noted for its extensive list of on-campus programmes for students. Some of the popular ones include: Eco Watch, Centre for Women’s Empowerment, NSS, Youth Red Cross, Centre for Quality Assurance, and more.

With limited space on campus, SFGC has managed to offer students basic sports facilities like a gymnasium, a large ground that is used for football or cricket, a basketball court, etc. “We often spend time in the gym, after class. Sometimes, it’s the perfect getaway from a boring class,” says a final year BCA student at SFGC.

Last year’s graduates have been placed with companies such as IBM, Wipro and Duetsche.