Plus Two admissions going on in Rama Devi women’s college. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, July 9: Every time ace sprinter Srabani Nanda and golden karateka Valena Valentina grab a medal at national and international events, its celebration time for sports enthusiasts at the Rama Devi Women’s (autonomous) College in the city.

Srabani and Valena are among the hundreds of sports women churned out by the college in the past few years.

Besides sports, students of the college have gained recognition for themselves and their alma mater across the fields of art, dance and music.

Odissi dancer Guru Aruna Mohanty and Odia vocalist Mitali Chinara are alumni of this college while students from the recent batches have gained fame in various reality song and dance television shows bringing laurels to the state. Prakruti Mishra and Mamma Mishra, who graduated from this college, are popular faces on the silver screen today.

Apart from extra-curricular activities, Ramadevi college has produced students, who have made to various allied officers and are continuing as academicians in premier institutes and universities, said principal Chitrangada Samantsinghar.

IAS Rupa Roshan and allied officers such as Bismita Tej and G. Sujata are alumni of this institute, she said.

Giving an equal importance to curricular and extra-curricular activities of the students has made the college stand out among a host of other institutions in the state, there by considered as one of the most preferred institutions for meritorious and all-rounder female students in the state.

“We try our best to encourage the students in all spheres of development, be it studies, sports or any other extra-curricular activities. We are one of the few colleges which has NCC is an elective subject,” said the principal.

The recently published Plus Two results have reaffirmed the quality of education provided in the college. Of the 497 students in Plus Two arts, 434 have scored good marks. Ninety of these students passed in first division. Similarly, in science, of the total 408 students, 165 have passed in first division. In commerce, 77 of 214 secured first divisions. High cut-offs for admission confirm that the high scorers prefer the college.

Last year, the college’s cut-offs for Plus Two and degree admissions were among the highest in the state. For Plus Two sciences, arts and commerce, the cut off was 84.50 per cent, 56.50 per cent and 60.80 per cent, respectively. Similarly, for degree, the cut-offs were 85.67 per cent for physical science, 81.20 per cent for biological science, 71.17 per cent for commerce, 58.46 per cent for arts and 64.67 per cent for self-financing courses.

While the faculty strength, state-of-the art infrastructure facilities, good results and extra-curricular activities have remained the college’s strength, the all-woman unitary university status is expected to bring a major boost to the infrastructure and faculty of the college.

“Studying at Ramadevi has its own benefits. As a sports person it has led me to concentrate on my game without bothering about the comments of the male students or without being self-conscious,” Soumya Mohapatra, a student said.

The college has four hostels for 900 students, while another 100-bed hostel is under construction. Two more hostels have been proposed. This apart, the college has a well-equipped library lab, a gym, a counselling centre, auditorium, said the principal.

The authorities recently submitted a project proposal of Rs 100 crore to the higher education department for the next five years as part of the Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan.

The proposal includes infrastructure improvement, creation of centres of excellence, faculty appointment, library automation and e-governance.