BEST PRACTICE

FISRT BEST PRACTICE

1. Title of the Practice – “Moulding better citizens”

2. Goal:

The College has been promoting higher education in Science, Humanities and Social Sciences for the last five decades in Imphal East District. The need of the hour is not merely promoting higher education but to provide a stepping stone for individuals who would adjust and contribute to the society.

Now the number of individuals with university diploma/degree is on the rise. These educated young students may have become successful being employed or able to pave themselves a path leading to wealth. And they may have earned respectful reputation too, in the profession they choose, but majority of them turn out to be lacking good human quality. And this is a sad trend while the society needs individuals who can adjust and contribute to it. The College aims to mould individuals who would cater to the needs of the society.

3. The Context:

The present curriculum serves only to produce degree holders and the main aim of education is to bring about an all-round development and a holistic approach is not clearly reflected from it. Believing in the flexibility of the curriculum, the teachers of the College decide to transact the curricular and co-curricular activities with a humane touch so that the college keeps moulding individuals with good human qualities and not merely with university degrees.

Translating the above idea into reality is indeed a herculean task. The Volume of content in the syllabus are huge and the available time is too little taking into account of the innumerable strikes, bandhs and blockades in Manipur. The only means left is the optimum utilization of the available teaching time followed along with the challenging issues to plan, implement and to carry out systematically so as to fulfill both the classroom teaching-learning and also give relevance to real life happenings and for the future too.

4. The Practice:

In the beginning of every session, the departmental heads discuss with their teaching and non-teaching staffs about the distribution of workloads and to proceed on with the teaching-learning process, encouraging the students to stay fit mentally, physically, morally and spiritually along with different platform of interactions. As such the teacher provides situations for student-student and student-teacher interactions. When the unit is completed, the teacher actfully relates what the students have learnt in the class with day-to-day life and also discusses the impact to the society. The teacher then asks the students to surf the internet to collect more information/ knowledge. When enough time is at hand, the teacher initiates for a classroom seminar/discussion to widen the scope of the learning through sharing and transfer of learning. This step in the teaching-learning is taken up with the conviction of bringing out the best qualities in the students and also to make them sense the applicability of the lessons. This also makes the students realize what the society needs and also of their role.

While carrying out the day-to-day teaching-learning the teachers themselves indulge in the research works to be more proficient in the profession of teaching.

Having understood the utmost requirement for the students’ involvement in the social-related issues just to be complete human beings, the college organizes co-curricular activities pertaining to the safety of the environment while transacting the curriculum side by side. In this context, it is worthy to mention that the college intends to create a green zone within the campus which is located in a semi-urban area where construction of concrete buildings is very much on the rise. The buildings of the college are in the midst of green pastures surrounded by water bodies. Steps have been taken up to maintain the green lawns that serve as play fields for the students and local youths as well. There are few ponds for water storage in different corners of the campus.

During the NSS camps, under the guidance of teachers, the students of the college clean up the ponds, water bodies, lawns and the surrounding areas of the college and also plant trees in and around the campus. Besides the above activities, the college students have been taking part in NSS camps, venturing to different communities to take up community related programmes, etc. These programmes provide opportunities to the students for interactions with people with different cultural/religious backgrounds and also provide the young students with a better insight of the social problems. Through these curricular and co-curricular adventures spanning over a period of three years, the students are prepared to contribute to the society while conveniently adjusting to it.

5. Evidence of Success:

Success is a big term. Successfully moulding students from different localities with different backgrounds to become individuals with complete human qualities besides becoming graduates in a span of three years is indeed a Herculean task. And finding the evidence of transformation of individuals is all the more difficult.

The College does not have a mechanism to detect the change taking place in the personality/mentality of the individual students. But the teachers decide the observation of the students from a closer perspective is the only means to note the transformation, if any, within them. Since the taking up of the mission seriously, the teachers observe the atmosphere, group dynamics and the outward manifestation of the nature/character of the individual students while organizing NSS, Blood Donation, Community service programmes, etc.

Of course, participation of the students in the said programmes a few years back was still there. But now, it is a joy to watch our students seriously involved in the humanitarian causes. Earlier fewer students turned up for donating blood in the Blood donation camps but encouragingly, a greater number of students volunteered for the same in the recent blood donation camps. And now many students, both boys and girls, volunteer to take part in social-related programmes. And it is satisfying to observe that more and more students apply for joining the NCC and many of them are trying for Defense services to serve the people and the nation as well.

The observable manifestations in the general character of our students apparently indicate the partial success of the College in moulding individuals capable of catering to the needs of the society.

6. Problems Encountered and Resources Required:

The College is a co-educational institute situated in a semi-urban area surrounded by people with different cultural and religious backgrounds. As would have been expected, students from all religious backgrounds are admitted to the College every year. And it is not at all easy to organise activities in the College as the students have different beliefs and influenced by divergent cultural and religious background.

While the ground reality of insufficient time available for the organization of curricular and co-curricular activities looms high, the unsettling atmosphere of the state of Manipur tarnished by violence, road blockade and bandhs provide demoralizing hindrances to the chalked-out programmes of the College. But it takes the undeterred efforts and spirit of the college system trying to materialize the laid-out objectives.

Second Best Practice:

1. Title of the Practice: “Eco-development Programme”

2. Goal:

The Modern College Environmental Club was set up in April, 2012 with a hope to create a sound environment in and around the College campus. The club focuses on achieving the following goals:

1. To give awareness of environmental issues to the staffs and students of the College and also to the people residing around the campus.
2. To establish a Green Zone in the Modern College campus and in the surrounding areas.
3. To conduct seminars, lecture programmes, group discussions etc. on environmental related issues.
4. To plant rare and medicinal plants inside the College campus.
5. To make the College campus a solid waste free zone.
6. To harvest rain water.

3. Context:

Forests are home to a wide range of flora and fauna biodiversities. But, the forests of Manipur have reached a critical stage of ecological degradation due to the increase in anthropogenic activities. The clearance of vast areas in the hills due to the practice of shifting cultivation and over exploitation of the forest produces remain the main reasons for forest degradation.

The Modern College situated at Imphal East District happens to be one of the oldest Colleges of Manipur. The College situated at Porompat, Imphal East connecting with other important parts of Manipur at four sides, is concerned about the ever-increasing urbanization, noise and air pollution etc. The College has been facing ecological backlash such as frequent flood as it is situated in a low-lying area of Manipur River Basin and also being located between Imphal river and Kongba river.

4. The Practice:

The Modern College Environmental Club is creating an eco-friendly environment in the campus. Members of the Club (Staff and Students) meet once a month to discuss environmental problems at the local and global level. The club has come up with an idea to conserve the micro environment of the Modern College campus and also to enlarge the scope beyond the campus. The practice of the Club concerns the creation of an environmental friendly and waste free green zone inside the Modern College campus.

The Club started its activities by observing UN World Environment Day on the 5" June 2012 under the aegis of Forest Department, Government of Manipur, with tree plantation in the Campus. In relation to this observation, a meeting of the members of the local club, organization and people settling around the campus were invited to attend and made discussions with teachers/experts regarding the importance of maintaining a clean environment. Keeping in mind the importance of preserving water bodies and also about the varying rate of monsoon rainfall, members started harvesting rainwater and storing the same in the College ponds and reservoirs. The College Keeper and chowkidar are presently growing seasonal vegetables and crops and they also rear fish in the College ponds.

Plants are natural healers and they are of great importance to us. We collected various plants including medicinal plants and planted them in the College Campus. For beautification and keeping the Campus green, some wild plants grown in the hilly areas have been collected and planted in the College Campus. The Club is now planning to develop two small eco-parks in front of the College office. Looking forward to maintaining the College Campus a plastic free zone, the Modern College Environmental Club organized a meeting with the students to discuss how to use and manage plastic products for a safe environment.

5. Evidence of Success:

With the establishment of the Environmental Club in the College, the teaching, non-teaching staffs and students, in particular, are very much involved in beautifying the College Campus. The students are becoming more aware while using the College properties. The students have started respecting the values of our surroundings. The habit of using dustbin has been strengthened with the upcoming of this club. An effort has been made for the reuse of the waste papers and the plastic wastes by giving them to the solid waste collectors. The NSS and NCC volunteers of this College are giving an immense support for this cause. The College Campus has now a cleaner look.

The Modern College Environmental Club and NSS of this College in Collaboration with Manipur State Wetlands Authority (MSWA) under Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Manipur have successfully organized “Bharat ka Amrit Mahotsav” at two different wetlands of Manipur namely Utrapat and Kharungpat located at Nambol Naorem and Wabagai respectively. The programmes project to enlighten the students, localities, administrators, planners, etc with the knowledge and importance of having wetlands and give help in saving them from every section of the society. Further discussions were made by considering the ecotourism prospects to generate income for the livelihoods who are dwelling and settling in and around the wetland areas in a sustainable development approach.

6. Problems Encountered and Resources Required:

As the College lies at the headquarter of Imphal East District, many important offices/ centers such as Police Headquarter, D.C. Office, Medical College, Water Supply Department, Census Department, District Industry Centre, etc. surround the College Campus. The noise and air pollution which is the outcome of the heavy transport system is causing havoc in the academic atmosphere. The clogging of water drainage and the hospital waste is of great concern for the College and the surrounding people. The crematorium lying just outside the College Campus also pollutes the College environment. In order to handle all these environmental problems, we need to give more attention on the environmental awareness programmes for people settling around the College Campus. Now the Club needs a strong support from every section of the environment i.e., teaching staff, non-teaching staffs, students, general public, planners and concerned government departments. The allotment of fund from the concerned departments for the proper functioning of the club remains the prime priority.