In 2010, a few months after having taken over as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi, I made a surprise visit to one of our colleges in South Delhi. The college had gained notoriety of the worst kind over the years for several reasons, and I was keen to see things for myself. As I entered the main corridor of the college, I spotted a first-year student. I could see dejection writ large on her face. Upon engaging with her, I discovered that she had a litany of woes about her college. Her foremost complaints were about teacher absenteeism, student indiscipline, and the extremely sorry state of the infrastructure coupled with highly inadequate toilet facilities.
She also mentioned that the curriculum seemed irrelevant and uninteresting to her. On my way out, and after witnessing the truth of her complaints, I made it a point to seek out the student again. I made a solemn promise to her that I would turn the college around before the end of my tenure. The saga of that college from that day onward has been a journey of hope and achievement. I speak of Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, better recognised as ARSD College.
Power of faculty, curriculum
In 2016, a few months after my five-year tenure as Vice Chancellor had ended, ARSD College made history by being ranked number five in the inaugural National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) list of colleges in India. This was no fluke, as evidenced by the college’s consistently high NIRF rankings in the following years. In the most recent list for this year, the college stands at number seven in India. There is much to imbibe from the success story of the ARSD College.
In the hope that other aspiring institutions may benefit, let me recount several learnings from the amazing ascendence of ARSD College. The first lesson—nothing can be achieved unless a college is led by a capable individual. After much effort, we were fortunate in spotting the young and dynamic Dr Gyantosh Jha and we wasted no time in appointing him as the principal. This was critical and proved very effective.
Jha had a clear and bold vision, and he took full advantage of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) launched in 2013 at the University of Delhi. He implemented it in letter and spirit. He worked in a multi-pronged fashion. He was very careful in appointing good and capable faculty. More than two-thirds of the current staff at the college have been carefully selected by him.
At the same time, he ensured that his faculty were well trained in the pedagogical and other requirements of the FYUP that were also laid out by the National Education Policy of India (NEP). As a result, his undergraduates have been oriented to think and learn through group-based project work that tackles problems. This approach fosters a transdisciplinary mode of engaging with knowledge through action. These features of the FYUP are mirrored verbatim manner in the NEP, so when the FYUP returned in its new avatar as part of the NEP, ARSD College was in tune from the get-go. I must add that Jha has had to face innumerable difficulties and impediments, but with the support of his colleagues, he has remained steadfast.
Also read: How DU’s once-‘notorious’ ARSD dethroned LSR in NIRF rankings by improving its science programme
Overhaul of ARSD College
The other features that have enabled ARSD to perform so well include the formation of a well-oiled and highly capable team that works with complete dedication. During my time at the helm of Delhi University, I was more than willing to support each college in improving its infrastructure through grants in aid. Only a handful of colleges took advantage of this opportunity, and ARSD College did so significantly. This near-complete overhaul of the infrastructure has changed the way the college is perceived. At Delhi University, we were also willing to support in every manner possible—including financial grants—any activity that allowed the undergraduates, in tandem with faculty, to produce research and engender a culture of entrepreneurship.
ARSD College consistently took full advantage of this support, and this gave it sufficient momentum to obtain grants from several national funding agencies such as the Indian Council of Social Science Research, the Department of Biotechnology, and the Department of Science and Technology. More than 2,000 undergraduates have taken part in active research over the last 10 years, have produced more than 50 research papers, and have worked with their teachers to produce several startups and patents.
The college has a vibrant culture of complementary activities, too numerous to list here. However, I must mention the extraordinary and highly acclaimed theatre tradition in which both alumni and students take part each year. I rest my case.
Dinesh Singh is the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi and adjunct professor of mathematics at the University of Houston, Texas, USA. He tweets @DineshSinghEDU. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)