Best Practices
Shiksha Kayakalp
Education is the foremost and basic right of every child which will nurture him to develop as competent human being to lead a life of fulfillment. It is the first step in making of the competence and character of thechild. The role of primary education is to make learning a pleasant experience for the students and ignite their curiosity to explore knowledge. Hindustan College of Science and Technology, Farah, Mathura realized the importance of strengthening primary education and as a token adopted three Govt. schools of the nearby villages to empower our country, by improving the infrastructure and quality of education. At all three schools, the children of the underprivileged families study mostly.
Objective of the practice- “Shiksha Kayakalp” project was initiated to develop good infrastructure in the adopted schools, improve the quality of education by providing necessary mentorship to the teachers, organize extracurricular activities and maintain an eco-friendly green environment in the schools. Students are also actively involved to inculcate in them a sense of responsibility towards the society and play their role efficiently to create and nurture education friendly environment in the schools.
The Context- Education is the fundamental right of every human being. The condition of the Govt. schools, near the college, was very poor and needed dedicated efforts to transform these into true temples of learning. Hindustan College of Science and Technology adopted two primary schools and one secondary school, which are in the close proximity. The college aims to enrich the teaching learning environment of the adopted schools, in the nearby locality. Poor infrastructure, lack of motivated and trained teachers, inadequate learning environment, make- shift classes, inadequate extracurricular activities, absence of proper mentoring and poor sanitation facilities make learning difficult for many children. Therefore, with a commitment to improve the overall quality of education in nearby village schools and make learning a pleasant experience for the students, Hindustan College of Science and Technology adopted the following three Primary / junior high schools
- Primary School, Shahjadpur
- Junior High school, Shahjadpur
- PrimarySchool,GhadiRosu
Practice-.The collegeis making efforts in the following areas to raise the standard of education in the adopted schools, in the under mentioned five heads.
Infrastructure Up gradation and Maintenance of Infrastructure
The college has made commendable efforts to develop conducive learning environment by up grading and maintaining the existing infrastructure, in the adopted schools to make the learning experience of the students pleasant. The schools were facing a serious problem of water logging, inadequate and unhygienic toilets,which were not in a good condition and benches/seating for the students were in a shabby condition. The broken benches were repaired, new benches were made, foot paths were constructed, pits were filled, ground level was raised, iron grills were fitted for the safety of the building, electric repairing work was done, new toilets were made, boundary wall was repaired and height of the boundary wall was increased, to make the school safe, proper drainage was constructed,skilled man power was deputed and required material was also provided to develop infrastructure. The college made efforts to develop education conducive infra structure in the beginning and is maintaining the same also, whenever the need arises, through periodic maintenance and repaires.
Improve the quality of teaching
The collegecollaborated with Department of Secondary Education, Agra Region, Agra and organized “Educational Leadership Conclave” on 27-29, December 2019 to develop leadership skill among the Principals of Secondary schools. The principals of the adopted schools were encouraged to attend this, along with other Principals of the region. 45 Principals of Mathura, Agra and Mainpuri region participated in it and experts from different fields guided and mentored them.The college provided the venue for the teachers’ training programs, organized by Govt. as and when required, for the up gradation of the teachers of the schools, to improve the teaching-learning process in these schools.
Provide Mentorship
The college nominated senior faculty members of the college, who have zeal and passion for the improvement in the teaching learning process of the village schools, as mentors for the adopted schools. These mentors visit the schools regularly to guide and assist the teachers for making teaching-learning process more effective. The mentors make efforts to sensitize the teachers to adopt activity based learning and inculcate life skill in the students. Some demo classes were also taken by the faculty mentors/ teachers. Following points are emphasized in the interaction with the teachers of the adopted schools-
- Inclusion of co-curricular/extra-curricular activities to make learning enjoyable for students.
- Organize competitions to motivate the students.
- Development of correct pronunciation, posture, confidence and communication in the growing kids.
- Make students aware of the benefits of hygiene and healthy habits and encourage them to develop good habits as taking bath daily, clip nails, wash hands before meals, wear clean/washed clothes, eating healthy food etc.
- Environmental awarenessshould be created among the students.
- Encourage the students not to throw around litter, keep school/home/ walls clean, not spoil greenery/plants and plant/water trees.
The list of the mentors is given below-
| S.No. | School | Faculty Mentors |
| 1 | Primary School, Shahjadpur | Dr. Keshav Dev -Faculty English |
| 2 | Junior High school, Shahjadpur | Dr. Yudhisthir Singh - Faculty Humanities |
| 3 | Primary School, Ghadi Rosu | Mr. Sunil- Faculty Humanities Dr. Archana Gautam- Faculty English Mr. Shashi Shekhar Gautam-Faculty MBA |
- Extra-curricular activities
Value Education cell of the college organizes various cultural programs, sports activities, plantation drives,competitions, with the help of the B.Tech. students in these schools. Many extracurricular activities were organized as sports day, poster competition, storytelling competition, art competition, kavita-Path etc. to develop all round personality of the students. The celebration of National days fills the students with a feeling of pride and responsibility towards the nation.Meritorious students are felicitated to inspire other students to make efforts for better academic performance. Yoga Day was celebrated and mentors and faculty members from the college did different asanas with the students. The need of practicing yoga was explained by Mr. Shashi Shekhar Gautam and students were shown some easy asanas and motivated to practice those regularly. Sharda pujan was organized at the beginning of the session in July and the Director Dr. R. K. Upadhyay motivated the students to pursue knowledge with dedication.
- Green Environment
Thecollege developed gardens in these schools to provide an eco-friendly environment.Value Education cell of the college , with a team of motivated students of the college, conducts plantation drives in the schools to inculcate the feeling of co-existence, care for nature and make efforts to conserve nature, in the minds of the students. NCC cadets also planted trees in the campuses.
Evidence of success-
| S. No. | Practices | Achievements |
| 1 | Development and Maintenance of infrastructure | The infra structure of the adopted schools improved significantly. |
| 2 | Improve quality of teaching and teachers development | Teaching-learning process was discussed by the mentors. Increase in the enrolment of the students is seen. |
| 3 | Provide mentorship to the teachers | Mentors regularly visit the campus and discuss with the teachers. |
| 4 | Extra-curricular activities | Sports/cultural activities are organized. |
| 5 | Green Environment | Plantation drives are organized, fields and gardens are maintained. |
Problems encountered and resources required
- The work got delayed due to the pandemic.
- More congenial atmosphere need to be developed among all the stake holders of the programme.
- Local support system needs to be strengthened.
Manviya Shiksha Prakalp
Objective of the practice-
- To conduct train the trainer program for the faculty teacherson the subject Universal Human Values and Professional Ethics (UHVPE)
- To educate and promote student coordinators to conduct Institutional value system to fellow students during Student Induction Programs
- Conduct various outreach activities for the students and the faculty under the umbrella of Value Education Cell to appreciate life, develop empathy, engage in broader community and become a responsible citizen, positively contributing to the society at large.
- Sensitize the students on the importance of physical and mental wellbeing
- To emphasize the importance of practicing a way of life that nurtures nature and embraces eco-friendly life style.
The Context-
The present education system is producing skilled professionals who excel in technical or their respective professional domains. However, it falls short in addressing the toll it takes on their well-being, leading to stress, depression, conflicts, and unrelenting fears. Consequently, lives are characterized by a lack of contentment and an inability to spread happiness—a fundamental human aspiration.
Our society is entrenched in pervasive fear and cut-throat competition, worsened by the reckless exploitation of natural resources. This unsustainable path has resulted in a disconcerting ecological imbalance, depleting invaluable resources and exacerbating severe environmental crises.
Value based and value guided education may provide solutions to these problems, by nurturing an understanding of how to harmonize personal aspirations with life's realities, grounded in enduring human values to the students to understand and maintain a healthy balance between aspirations and life expectations to demonstrate a balanced life style.
Practice-
These below listed four dimensions are instrumental in attaining the key objectives of the Manviya Shiksha Prakalp:
- Developing Right Understanding of life.
- Ensure Health in the Body
- Contribution for Society
- Efforts for Nurturing Nature
Developing Right Understanding -The Value Education Cell of the college took an early initiative in the year 2011 to sensitize the teachers and bring desired behavioral changes in their personality,thus, in turn, motivate the students to adopt ‘value based’ living. Total 8 FDPs were organized under the aegis of AKTU, Lucknow and 347 teachers form Technical and Management Colleges were trained. One SDP was also organized with AKTU and 27 staff members were trained.
AICTE has introduced 3 weeks Induction program for newly admitted students in first year which helps the newly inducted students to adjust in the culture of technical colleges. Expert lectures, games, cultural and literary activities, visit to nearby places, lectures on Human Values, different competitions etc. are the main ingredients of the SIP. Second year students are given responsibility to organize competitions and thus initiate to develop a cordial relation with the new comers.
Universal Human Values and Professional Ethics is a regular paper prescribed by the University in second year. In third year and fourth year students take these HVPE related courses as electives. Gradually students are motivated to develop right understanding to play their role as a good human being, as member of family, society, nature and existence. Value Education Cell is created in the college and is instrumental in organizing different activities as workshops for teachers, students and staff, organizing online lectures, organizing social activities etc. to provide practical exposure to the students and see the practical implications of the proposals learned in the HVPE course.
Ensure Health in the Body-
Human being is a co-existence of self and body. Education and right understanding helps an individual to feel his responsibility and play his role effectively. Body is an instrument of the self and is material in nature. So one should try to nurture and protect the body and ensure its right utilization for living a wholesome value based life. The students are taught to realise this co existence of body and self- for developing self- different subjects are taught to develop right understanding in the students. To ensure health in the body: students are exposed to NCC activities, Yoga classes, Gym , Sports activities, cultural activities and their all round development is ensured.
Contribution for Society-Many of the faculty members attended the online HVPE workshops during the Covid 19 period and helped in the organization of the FDPs all over India.
The Value Education Cell of the institute organizes workshops for the school students of nearby areas, school teachers and farmers. Visit to old age homes, orphanages, and different ashrams are regular practice of the college to develop empathy, sympathy, compassion and gratitude in the students and equip our students with value guided skills for creating a humane society.
Efforts for Nurturing Nature- . The department of Biotechnology, HCST has been instrumental in providing assistance and training to farmers and student startups for promotion and development of organic farming. School connect programs, JagruktaShivirs, Symposiums, Workshops and Camps are organized in the college for creating environmental awareness in the society. Plastic has been banned in the campus. Students run plantation drives inside and outside the campus to create environmental awareness.Swacchata drives are conducted by the NCC cadets in the nearby villages also.
Evidence of success-
- Total 347 faculty members from AKTU affiliated Engineering and Management Colleges and 27 non-teaching staff were trained.
- 30 faculty members of the college are trained to conduct student induction program.
- Constitution of Value Education Cell to conduct UHV activities.
- Second year students conduct Induction Program of first year students.
- Reduced cases of indiscipline.
- Fund raising for student suffering from cancer.
- Students take part in physical and mental health conducive programmes as NCC, Sports, Yoga etc.
- Visit to old age homes, orphanages etc.
- Felicitation programs for school teachers and parents.
- Blood donation camps.
- Swacchta Abhiyan.
- School connect programs.
- Organic farming.
- Plantation drives.
Problems encountered and resources required-
- No major challenges are encountered in implementing the FDP sessions. Since development of human values and ethics is part of the Mission statement of the Institute, the team had complete support from the administration. Although their willingness to help is appreciated, managing faculty time off from teaching and academic responsibilities is a challenge felt many at times.
- The organization offers all necessary resources; there's no need for extra provisions.
Institutional Distinctiveness
Hindustan College of Science & Technology aims to provide holistic and value-based education, transforming students to become industry ready in order to get placed in an esteemed organization or start their own ventures,as well as to develop himself/herself as a good human being.As it is evident from the vision and mission statements of the college, the collegeis committed for the holistic development of the students while aiming at excellence in education, meeting the quality standards, set by accrediting and regulatory bodies and transforming the students into industry ready personality.
The Context-
The college believes that academic input is a major component in determining a student’s success, but by no means it is the only factor or complete development of the student. There is a bouquet of personal abilities and attributes which guide a student towards achieving their dreams and aspirations in the actual professional work life. The students taking admission in the college, in majority, belong to West U.P. or surrounding areas. As they are from vernacular background, their English communication is mostly poor and they lack the mannerism and etiquettes needed from a true professional. Hence, these students need a lot of preparation and grooming for a complete transformation of their personal qualities to become suitable for professional work role in a global work environment.The College proactively identifies the preparatory gaps and makes provision for imparting the content, beyond syllabus, to prepare our students, equipping them to be industry ready in terms of not only their domain skills, but additionally soft skills &behavioral skills also.The college fosters a unique system of ensuring smooth transition from academics to professional environment, through a well-structured curriculum. In addition to the AKTU academic curriculum, this program is tailor-made and cater to the professional requirements of the engineering and management students in accordance with the industry expectations.
The Practice-
Rigorous brainstorming sessions are conducted on the feed backs, received from our recruiters about the skills needed for performing well in the industry. An independent Training and Development department designs and runs a program spreading across seven semesters with 110lectures (100 min each) along with 30 hours three workshops in III semester, V semester and VII semesters , to facilitate the student transit from College to Corporate successfully.Therefore, a course on soft skills and employability enhancement PDP (Personal Development Program) is meticulously designed, beginning from the 1stsemester up to 7th semester. Total 273 ( 183+90) hours course is specifically designed to inculcate Soft skills, enhance Aptitude, Numerical Ability, Verbal Ability, Logical, Critical and Verbal Reasoning, Group discussion and Interview skills.The College has a team of 11 competent and experienced trainers who earnestly guide students to explore their strengths and weaknesses; honing their skills and developing confidence as well as competencies, transforming them into industry ready and employable personnel.The expert trainers conduct regular employability test through mock GD, personal Interview and extempore sessions.
Pre requisite:
When the student takes admission in first year, a SWOT analysis of the student is conducted to find out the grey areas and provide them with training, accordingly. Student has to appear in TOEBL (Test of English as Business Language) and his vocabulary is tested. The students are counseled and grey areas are properly addressed.
Step -1 : Professional Communication
A professional communication course is designed for first year students to brush up their communication skills and focus on the correct English usage. Besides we focus on enhancing communication skills of the students through activity-basedinteractions. Students participate in skill enrichment drills like debates, extempore, meetings, presentation, just a minute (JAM) session etc. and undertake experiential learning. LSRW (development of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills) is the targeted area for first year students. Slow learners are given extra care and remedial assignments are given to them to adjustto the learningrequirements.
Step-2: Soft Skills and Behavioral Skills
The syllabus of second year is devoted to develop soft skills, communication skills, behavioral and interpersonal skills along with quantitative skills and aptitude.Induction to employability workshop is held at the beginning of the semester in order to emphasize the concept and importance of soft skills to the students. Lectures are designed to expose the students to the needed soft skills and give them practice sessions to experientially groom them under expert supervision. Understanding Emotional Intelligence, regulating emotions, analyzing antisocial, social traits and improving upon them, developing positive attitudes, are all, integral part of the curriculum.
Step-3: Aptitude / Reasoning Test Preparation and Group Discussion/ Personal Interview Preparation
In third year, a well-designed combination of theory and practical curriculum polishes and reinforces the soft skills, communication, quantitative, analytical reasoning and logical reasoning of the students. Special mock sessions and workshops are conducted to prepare the students for GDs, PIs etc. to make them confident to face the real-liferecruitment processes. Recorded sessions of GD and PI are conducted to enable students evaluate themselves through feedback and improve their performance.
Step-4: Career Counseling and Employability Enhancement
The students are given aptitude training, reasoning practice, quantitative aptitude training, verbal ability training and thematic ability training to appear confidently in the written placement exams conducted by various recruitment companies. Regular group discussion and personal interviewsessions provide practice and boost the morale and confidence of the students to face the interviews.Experts from outside are also invited and workshops are conducted to provide Employability Aptitude Training.
Evidence of Success:
Thus, a comprehensive four-year training and guidance is provided to every student taking admission at HCST to groom him/her into a successful professional.This exclusive approach provides the college a distinctive edge to convert the students into successful industry ready professionals.
In the span of four years, students are gradually exposed to different employability skills and proper training, grooming and experiential learning environment, transforming them into professionals gradually and progressively.The saga of the success of this intensive grooming program is sung by our alumni all over the globe. The testimonials from our students, alumni, recruiters, parents and society are the proof of the success of this unique program.