New Delhi: A Delhi University college, which was once known as one of the most ‘notorious’ colleges in DU, has dethroned prestigious colleges like Lady Shri Ram and Hansraj in the Ministry of Education’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College (ARSD) had a marred image due to its cases of violent student politics, low pass percentage, and regular boycotts and protests. But in 2017, everyone was shocked when it first made its way to an NIRF list.
Four years after Professor Gyantosh Jha took over as principal of ARSD in 2013, the lesser-known “neighbour of Sri Venkateswara College” managed to repackage itself by strengthening its science and research programme.
The college — which Monday ranked fifth in the NIRF list of top colleges in the country — boasts of over 1,000 research publications, over five applied patents, over 15 government-funded research projects and 11 innovation projects.
Sitting in his office, with the rankings proudly displayed in the background, Jha told ThePrint that his focus over the years was to convert the destructive energies of the students to more constructive avenues, and what better way to do that than by encouraging them into science and innovation?
“When we first featured in the NIRF rankings, everyone was shocked. Social media was flooded with comments on how a ‘ladai jhagde wala college’ (a college known for its notoriety) featured ahead of top colleges like St. Stephen’s and LSR,” Jha said.
“Once could be a fluke, but we have featured in the rankings every year since 2017. And we have only gotten better,” he added.
‘Focus has been on promoting research at UG level’
This year’s NIRF ranking list shows that ARSD, despite ranking fourth in the list, has shown exemplary performance in two parameters — teaching-learning and resources; and research and professional practice (RPC). Surprisingly, ARSD outperformed DU’s Hindu College in these two areas, which held the first rank in this year’s list.
In the teaching-learning and resources parameter, ARSD scored 64.86 points out of 100, narrowly surpassing Hindu College, which scored 63.91.
However, in the RPC parameter, it has surpassed all DU colleges. ARSD scored a whopping 94.84 points, miles ahead of the top-ranked Hindu College, which scored only 59.88 points in this category. Across all universities in the country, it is only second to Chennai’s Loyola College, which has scored 100 in the RPC category.
Teachers from the college told ThePrint that over the past five years, the focus has been on promoting research at the undergraduate level.
The college has also been investing in infrastructure to promote science learning. This entails setting up labs, research and innovation centres, and testing facilities. A seed fund has also been set up internally, which is allocated for group research projects.
The college has 17 research labs, dedicated summer internship programmes at the graduate and master’s level, and interdisciplinary research programmes.
Jha said that the institute has started PRABODH — an in-house interdisciplinary research and innovation projects scheme — to encourage the participation of students and teachers in research activities. The programme also encourages students to convert their research into real-world solutions.
This is done by promoting teacher-student partnerships in research.
“Three of our faculty members from the physics and chemistry departments have also made it to the Stanford research list. To promote our students and faculty in the field of research, the college is also providing minor funding,” Jha said.
The college has been working on government-funded research, all primarily spearheaded by students.
Apart from obtaining funding from the government’s Department of Science and Technology (DST), they are working on projects funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
College trying hard to overturn image
When Vinita Tuli, associate professor from the physics department and the nodal officer for NIRF, joined ARSD in 2000, she was hesitant. She was joining from the prestigious St. Stephen’s College in the north campus, and all that she knew about ARSD were stories of rowdy students and violent political activities.
“Even back then, I realised that there wasn’t much difference between students from ARSD and students from St. Stephen’s. The students here had a drive to learn, and all we had to do was channel that,” Tuli told ThePrint.
Former students from DU told ThePrint that till about a decade ago, ARSD mainly enrolled students who could not make it to better DU colleges or those who wanted to get involved in active politics through student groups. The scenes of student politics in the college were so volatile that violent face-offs between student groups were also witnessed.
In 2018, three former students of the college were arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly beating up another former student. This is just one of the many police cases registered against ARSD students in local stations.
The college is now trying hard to overturn that image.
Tuli said that when the college first made it to the NIRF rankings in 2017, social media got flooded with messages expressing shock. Many expressed their disbelief, but some called the rankings rigged only because ARSD had found a place on the list.
“We did not let these comments discourage or distract us from our larger goal, which was to promote an ecosystem of scientific research,” Jha said.
He said comments started softening when the college featured in the rank list again the next year and continued improving.
“We are fighting a battle of perception. We have been able to change it to a great extent and will continue our attempt towards it,” he said.
Teachers also said that the NIRF rankings have helped them improve the quality of student enrolments.
“We are now getting students who have scored over 90 or 95 percent. They see ARSD as a fruitful option. Our placement is also an attraction for students,” Tuli said.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Also read: Scientists discover ‘dark oxygen’ produced on deep-ocean floor where the Sun don’t shine
LSR was grossly over-rated. In general, Delhi colleges are over-rated.
Colleges in Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata, though much “lower ranked”, provide much better standards of education. Top research institutions like TIFR, IISc, ISI, CMI, etc. are filled with graduates from Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata colleges. Even a cursory glance at this year’s incoming batch of students at these hallowed institutions prove the point.