Institutional Distinctiveness

7.3.1 Distinctiveness of Barasat Government College

Barasat Government College traces its origin to a period of great social upheaval in West Bengal when the state was reeling under the pressure of a huge influx of people rendered destitute by the Partition of 1947. During its inception in 1950, the college was envisioned as an institution primarily for serving the needs of and empowering the socially and economically underprivileged population of migrants settling around Barasat and its rural hinterland which shared the international boundary with the then East Pakistan.

Keeping in mind the original vision of the college to impart quality education to the socially marginalized victims of the Partition, Barasat Government College still upholds its mission of providing an inclusive space where students, especially those from the weaker sections can receive the fruits of higher education irrespective of their social, economic, religious and cultural backgrounds.

Distinctiveness 1: Melting Pot of Students from Diverse Socio-Cultural Backgrounds

The institute being geographically well connected by road and railways with a huge rural hinterland, providing education at a low cost with additional provision of various scholarships, and being equipped with highly qualified faculties attracts students of all race, religion, culture, social and economic backgrounds (minorities, SC/ST, OBC, General, urban, semi-urban and rural). All kinds of students gather under one umbrella to attain holistic development in the institution fostering homogeneity out of the heterogeneity of their social and economic diversities. The cultural amalgamation and integration is achieved by a melting together approach through various initiatives undertaken by the college like its different best practices, programmes and high level academic pursuits. Thus the “Melting Pot” becomes an apt metaphor for the unity in diversity achieved by the institution.

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Distinctiveness 2: Holistic Approach to Education

We consider as our distinctiveness the nurturing of the Holistic Development of students differently and exactly. Over the last seven decades the college has endeavoured to place holistic development at the centre with the four rock solid spokes of spiritual, social, physical, and intellectual development constituting the wheel on which the college runs through its corresponding diversified field programmes, academic pursuits and co-curricular activities. The outcome-based education policy resulted in rapid growth by sustaining quality education leading to holistic development. Thus, our students are contributing to the society by becoming intellectually competent, morally elevated, spiritually enlightened and socially committed.

Recently nearly sixty of our faculty took training in MMTC (UGC) NEP sensitization FDP programmes and the college has taken various social pledges of the Government of India. The participation of two our former students in mission Chandrayan-3 is a supreme example of this holistic development.

Weblink:  https://cloud.bgc.ac.in/IQAC/FLD_1067_22_IQAC_45435.95896577937.3.1-2-Distinctiveness%202.pdf

Distinctiveness 3: Academic Empowerment of Women from Marginalized Sections

Barasat has served as a seedbed of women’s education in Bengal during the nineteenth century and stalwarts like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Peary Charan Sarkar, Kalikrishna Mitra were known for undertaking several social reformative actions in Barasat, including the development of education, especially women’s education. A direct result of these events was the setting up of the first private school for girls in India in 1847 by Kalikrishna Mitra with the help of Peary Charan Sarkar. Barasat Government College inherits this glorious cultural past.

Carrying forward this legacy of women’s education the college can boast of a student community in which the ratio of women students has consistently been more than half of the total student strength. More importantly, the representation of women from marginalized sections and the minority communities is as high as 60 percent and 20 percent of the total number of women students respectively.

The fact that such a large number of women students, specially from the marginalized communities of the surrounding rural belt not only choose to enroll at Barasat Government College but also emerge as torchbearers of empowerment after successfully completing their education is due to the following features of the college and the endeavors it undertakes.

❖Good Connectivity by Road and Rail

❖Low Fee Structure

❖ Scholarship: The college has a dedicated scholarship cell which provides all necessary technical support to students applying for scholarships. As a result more than 90 percent of the students of the

college enjoy some form of monetary support.

❖ Safe and Secure Campus: In order to ensure a safe space for students, particularly women the college provides adequate lighting, CCTV cameras (35 installed across the campus) and security

personnel (5 guards in two shifts).

❖Adequate Facilities for  Women: The college has an adequate number of girls’ toilets, a girls’

common room and sanitary pad vending machine to cater to the specific needs of the female students.

❖Active ICC and Gender Sensitization Committees: The college boasts of a highly active ICC which works all the year round in tandem with the Gender Sensitization Committee to spread

awareness   about   gender   discrimination,   sexual   harassment   and   related   laws,   women’s empowerment, the problems faced by the sexual minority (LGBTQ+ people) etc through cultural programmes, film screenings, photography exhibitions, wall graffiti, poster competition etc. In order to give further impetus to these activities, the college has tied up with the leading feminist NGO, Swayam which is providing resources and expertise for these programmes.

❖Gender Sensitization Workshops: Intimate gender sensitization workshops for the students of each department to raise their awareness about gender issues. Through these continuous practices

we have been largely successful in creating an inclusive and safe space for students irrespective of their gender identity.

❖ Psychological Counseling Cell: A unique feature of the college is its highly functional Psychological Counseling Cell helmed by a trained counselor to provide private counseling sessions

to students in distress completely free of cost.

❖Large Percentage of Women Faculties: The College boasts of a large percentage of women faculties (almost 50 percent) who not only understand the specific needs and struggles of the girl

students, but also stand as examples of women empowerment for them.

❖Consistently Good Academic Results: All the factors mentioned above have created an academic

environment conducive to the women students as borne out by the fact that more than 70 percent of the girl students from the marginalized and minority communities have scored more than 8 CGPA in their graduation examination.

Weblink: https://cloud.bgc.ac.in/IQAC/FLD_1067_22_IQAC_45435.95920486117.3.1-3-Distinctiveness%203.pdf