Best Practice 1

Title of the practice: Empowerment through skill development

Objectives of the practice:

The college, started with the aim of empowering rural women students through education, takes every effort to make them employable and groom them as effective citizens through skill development initiatives. Based on the feedback obtained from the stakeholders VICAS has been offering skill development courses to the students mainly with the following objectives.

• To ensure employability among the women students.
• To promote Entrepreneurial skills.

The Context:

With the projection of bodies like FICCI that India may emerge as a nation which will supply skilled manpower to the entire world, the governments at the central and state level encourage educational institutions to offer skill development courses. In tune with the Nation’s mission of skill India, the college has taken initiatives to offer skill development courses to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. These courses are need based, industrially relevant and society driven and are mainly focused on enhancing livelihood options for the women students.

The Practice:

The departments on the basis of the feedback obtained from the stakeholders and based on opinion obtained from the experts; decide on the nature of the skill development courses to be offered. With the approval of the management, the course content is decided by the faculty members of the development and approved by BOS.  In the beginning of every semester, the list of skill development courses offered is published in the website and notice boards and the students are encouraged to enroll. A nominal fee is collected for these courses. These skill development courses are offered either on the basis of MoU or in the collaboration with industrial establishments.

Tally offered by the Department of Commerce, Clinical laboratory techniques offered by the Department of Biochemistry, Radiation and Health Physics offered by the Department of Physics, Textile Chemistry offered by the Department of Chemistry, English for Employability offered by the Department of English, Sericulture offered by the Department of Zoology are some of the popular skill development courses.

Evidence of success:

In the past five years, in all 88 skill development courses were offered and 13,222 students who enrolled in these courses. In the year 2020-21 alone 2133 students who enrolled and 348 students were placed in on-campus drives, 713 students placed through off-campus drives and 17 entrepreneurs which voucher for the examples of these courses.

Problems encountered and Resources required:

Though the response from the student’s side has been overwhelming, difficulties are faced in preparing the time table. Day scholars find the courses difficult to attend if they are scheduled beyond the working hours. The management ensures that all the resources are made available.

The skill development courses have impacted the students of the college so much that the colleges in the region also have started following this practice below.

Best Practice - II

Title of the practice: Free Transportation unit with GPS Tracking facility to ensure safety

Objectives of the practice:

Vivekanandha College of Arts and Sciences for Women(Autonomous), Tiruchengode, functioning with the noble vision of empowering the rural youth through education and transforming them into future-ready students, dulyaddresses the issues of connectivity and safety appropriately. Rural children hesitate to join Higher Educational Institutions because of these two significant issues. The college provides free transportation service with the following objectives.

1. To enable students from remote locations to continue their studies in Higher Educational Institutions.
2. To ensure the safety of the women students.
3. To arrest the attrition rate.
4. To contribute for rural development through educating the rural women populace.

The Context:

The college has its dedicated mission of ensuring quality education for the rural women students comprising first generation learners. The Institution is located in a rural area with a dry landscape and the students are from different regions of Tamil Nadu and even from other states. The initial hurdles in the journey of learning start as the days prolong but the most crucial factor is the transportation to the institution. The institution takes a step forward to provide transport at free of cost to all our students and the staff members, focusing on the only goal of providing hassle-free education thus ensuring "Women Empowerment through Quality Education".

The Practice:

The provision of free transport to all students is one of the institution's practices to help the college attain its motto. Connectivity, the primary issue in rural areas, discourages women students and their parents from thinking twice before admitting into the institutions. Worried over the safety of the girl students, parents dissuade their wards not to opt for higher studies. The management has mightily addressed these twin issues by operating 70 buses to remote locations of rural areas not only in the Namakkal District and in neighboring districts at free of cost. All-day scholar students and staffs are given this facility so that the travel does not become a nightmare. 

The hostellers are also given the facility to reach their homes during vacations/festival holidays, reducing the anxiety of the parents. Similar arrangements help the students to return to their hostels after holidays/vacations. The impressive statistics below record the number of users among the student population.

Nearly 78.33% of the students have availed this facility. The GPS facility helps parents to track the mobility of the buses.

Evidence of success:

The college has earned a very good name for taking every care of the students.  In view of this generous steps of provision of free transport. Despite the mushrooming of Arts and Science colleges in this part of the state, the college can still attract the students, evidenced by the enrolment and strength. Many rural women are able to continue their studies and get employment because of these gestures from the management. Parents' confidence on the college has increased tremendously. All these help the college attain its goal of transferring the young rural minds of women through education.

Problems encountered:

1. Frequent increase in the price of fuel.
2. Maintenance cost of the vehicles.
3. Frequent request from students to change their boarding point/dropping point which makes the seat allocations a difficult exercise.

Best Practice III

Title of the Best Practice: Extension Activities to the Society

Objectives of the practice:

• To sensitize students on the socio-economic structure of the society
• To arouse the spirit of common interest to participate collectively for a social cause.
• To motivate students to make a difference in society.
• To create a community of selfless, caring, and committed individuals.

The Context

Vivekanandha College of Arts and Sciences for Women (Autonomous) aims to sewe the society at large and in reciprocation the student bodies such as National Service Scheme (NSS), Youth Red Cross (YRC) and Red Ribbon Club (RRC) are functioning right from the inception of the college. Other than regular prescribed activities of NSS, YRC and RRC, the college has introduced many programmes to service the community.

The Practice

Seeking to systematize the practice, the college has, for the last few years, chosen an annual theme All Departments engage their students in carrying out the vision of the theme in unique way.

• Every year Department of Tamil used to spend a day in “Sivabaakiyam Orphanage and old Age Home” During this event, and donated to the orphanaged. Groceries, Clothes and cash are used to collect from both faculty and students .
• Centre for Rural Development (NSS, RRC, YRC, and UBA) is involved in community orientation by conducting various Programmes. Communuty programmes such as Village Mapping, Kabasura Kudineer distribution, Health Check-up camps, Eye donation awareness, Dental Check-up etc., are carried out through out the year at different phases.
• 10 villages are adopted by the College, 5 villages named Erayamangalam, Ninnam Palayam, PulliPalayam, Kattuvellampalayam and Velliyampalayam are chosen under NSS & 5 villages named Elaiyampalayam, Mettupalayam, Maniyanur, Konnaiyar and Kovilpalayam are chosen under the Unnat Bharat Abiyan scheme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Participating Institution Id: C-9488).
• Our NSS unit has actively participated as well as organized  numerous programs such as Jal Shakthi Abhiyan, ill effects of Open defecation, Abdul Kalams Day, National Unity Day, Flag Day, First Aid training programme, Independence Day, Orientation Programme on Swatchh Bharat Event, Swatchh Bharathi Seva, NSS day celebration, Aids Day, Human Rights Day, Dengue Awareness, National Youth Day, Voters Day, Republic Day, Leprosy Day and Personal Hygiene awareness day.
• The Largest anemia screening camp for Women (Single venue) was conducted in association with VMCH and Indian Medical Association, Tiruchengode. 10,059 women were screened and titled as “Mission Pink Health” Certificate of achievement was given by “Asian Records Academy” and “Tamilan Book of Records”.
• Students prepared Nilavembu kudineer & Kabasura kudineer during Dengu & Covid-19 and distributed the herb drink to the adopted villeges.
• Extension activity on seed ball distribution was carried out in the adopted villeges.
• To enhance the philanthropic spirit, Pidi Arisi Thittam has been initiated and collected food grains were distributed to sivabakiyam orphanage. 
• Training Programme on: Production of vegetables through greenhouse technology sponsored by TNSCST, Chennai, was conducted for the students.
• Hands-on training on flower and various decorative items using waste cocoons
• Pupils disseminated 500 façades and 10,000 liters of hand Sanitizer was distributed was also carried out for the students during Covid-19 to the Mollipalli village.
• Rs. 3,76,889/- was mobilized for Thane Cyclone Relief Fund and handed over to the District Collector
• Rs. 7,00,000/- GAJA Cyclone Relief Fund – mobilized and given to the District Collector
• Rs. 1,90,073/- Kerala Cyclone Relief Fund – mobilized and handed over to District Administration.

Evidence of Success

Continuous implementation of the schemes for the public every year stands as a proofof success.
Positive feedback from the village panchayat about the schemes.
The livelihood earned by the beneficiaries of ‘Pidi Arisi Thittam’ in the Orphanage and old Age Home is a sheer example of success.
The responses from the beneficiaries and their enthusiastic participation in all the programmes initiated by the college stand a testimony to the success of the events that the college initiates.

Problems encountered and Resources required : Problems encountered:

• Creating awareness among the students about the socio-economic status of the society.
• Encouraging the students to step out from their comfort zones to serve the society.
• Initial hesitation to stay back beyond college hours.
• Continuous motivation is required as the students are capable of losing their confidence when things don’t go in the expected way.
• Monitoring the safety of the students when they go out into the community.

• Dedicated staff and assistants to help implement the schemes and conduct events
• Arranging conveyance for the students when they go to villages for implementation.

As the protocol demands the contact of local authorities to get permission for organizing camps