Members of the NAAC team during their visit to the Cotton College. Picture by Samir Choudhury

Jan. 19: The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has accorded a B+ grade to Pandu College for fulfilling almost 75 per cent of the excellence criteria.

The council asked the college to introduce more self-financing courses to suit the local need.

In its report, the council praised the college’s attempt to decentralise power, which, it said, ensured transparency of administration in the institution. The college has an in-built mechanism for quality checks like taking feedback from students and parents, said the NAAC team, which inspected the college in December last year.

An institution needs to fulfil more than 55 per cent of the excellence criteria in order to get accredited status from the NAAC. The accreditation is useful for an institution in getting funds from agencies.

The NAAC team visited the Cotton College this month. It suggested the college design the new courses, research activities and inter-disciplinary approach according to the latest trends. It said efforts should be made by the college to enter into memorandums of understanding with other research institutes in the country and abroad.

The NAAC team also visited other colleges in the city, including LC Bharali College and Handique College. The NAAC assesses a college on the following criteria — curricular aspects, teaching, learning and evaluation, research, consultancy and extension, infrastructure and learning resources, student support, organisation and management and healthy practices.

The team also praised the computer application department of the Pandu College for developing modular courses for a computer awareness programme offered to teachers and non-teaching staff of the college. The college has introduced logbooks of class teaching for all teachers.

The Pandu College also evaluates the performance of teachers through self-appraisal reports submitted by them. The principal later analyses the reports with help from senior teachers and takes steps for improvement of the college.

The body said there was a good environment of research work in the college as 40 per cent of the teaching staff are PhDs and MPhils. Three of them are research guides and 20 others are in active research.

“Pandu College appears to be an institution sensitive to the needs of the modern youth and developing it in the right direction. Over the past 40 years, it has transformed itself from a tiny candle into a bright lantern bringing in the light of higher education to the localities of Pandu and Maligaon,” it said.

The report said the college missed a higher grade for want of a playground and sufficient space for the building which are considered as the weakest points of the college. “The college is located on 2.44 acres of land given by the Northeast Frontier Railways on a long term lease. The district authorities have allotted 15.5 acres of additional land to the college, which is yet to be handed over to the college authorities by the railways,” it said. The NAAC team comprised P.K. Chaudhuri, member-secretary, West Bengal State Council of Higher Education; Sulapani Bhattacharya, principal, Vidyasagar College and M.P.R. Lyngdoh, principal, Shillong College.

The team interacted with students, guardians and alumni of the college. It also praised the alumni association for taking active interest in the development of the college. The association has donated fire extinguishers to the Chemistry department. “Existing facilities of the college canteen should be improved,” the report observed.

The body recommended courses on interior decoration, food processing, electronic equipment maintenance, mushroom cultivation and so on.