Shining Stars among Non-Chennai Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu-5
This is the fifth article in the series of seven articles on the famous and branded colleges of Tamil Nadu, in cities and towns other than Chennai. In this article, we will discuss the salient features of the courses offered by the Jamal Mohamed College, Tiruchirapalli,the Shrimati Indira Gandhi College, Tiruchirapalli and the St.Xavier's College, Palayamkottai,a town near Tirunelveli in South Tamil Nadu.
Introduction
This is the fifth article on the non-Chennai, Arts and Science Colleges of Tamil Nadu, that offer a good variety of courses and are situated at various cities and towns of the State. Tamil Nadu is the best State in India in terms of organized bus transport in the country and this is a big plus for students to easily travel to different parts of the State for higher education, to take part in conferences, inter-college cultural events and so on. Among the non-Chennai colleges, there are a big number of colleges where this is encouraged and this also goes a long way in building the personalities of the students. According to those interviewed, this is a regular feature of all the three colleges discussed in this article.
In this article,we will examine the salient features of three Arts and Science Colleges, two of which are based in the city of Tiruchirappalli. Readers may refer to the first article in this series, that had detailed the standards of two Tiruchirappalli colleges. Shining Stars Among on-Chennai Arts and Science Colleges -1 to learn about Tiruchirappalli city.
The third article in this series Shining Stars Among non-Chennai Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu -3, talked about the three branded colleges.These colleges were the Bishop Heber College, the Holy Corss College and the National College.
The fourth article in this series Shining Stars Among non-Chennai Arts and Science Colleges -4, talked about the salient features of the three Madurai city colleges,namely, the American College, Fatima College and the Lady Doak College.
In this article, we will discuss the salient features of Jamal Mohamed College, Tiruchirappalli, the Srimati Indira Gandhi College for Women,Tiruchirappalli and the St.Xavier's College,Palayamkottai. More specifically, we will discuss a) What is special about Palayamkottai b) What is special about Jamal Mohamed College c) What is special about Shrimati Indira Gandhi College and d) What is special about St.Xavier's College, Palayamkottai. What is special about Palayamkottai
Palayamkottai is a suburb of Tirunelveli, a big district headquarters town in South Tamil Nadu. Tirunelveli is well connected to various parts of Tamil Nadu by a big network of buses and also by train to Kerala and many other parts of India as well.
Tirunelveli has just one major unit of the India Cements group to boast about. It is a big centre for agriculture and is rain fed. The famous Tambarabarani rivier which is a perennial river flows near this town, well known the world over for its brand of Halwa sweets. Tirunelveli is home to so many colleges of engineering and arts and science. However, the best known is the St.Xavier's College, which is being discussed in this article. What is special about Jamal Mohamed College
Though this college started as a Muslim minority college, it has developed into a very famous college, for its MBA program. This course is offered through its exclusive Jamal Institute of Management. Since the college is an autonomous College, it has now added a large number of courses and has separate courses for men and for women.
The Master's Degree in Social Work(MSW) degree is now very famous. and its vocational courses at the undergraduate level have a good reputation for quality, according to old students interviewed for the purposes of this article. For example, the B.Voc (Apparel and Fashion Design) and B.Voc(Tourism and Hospitality Management) stand out for their job-orientation. All courses are affiliated to the Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli.
Since Islamic banking is a way of life in the Gulf, it does pay to run a course on it. And the Jamal Mohamed College has one such course. The Post Graduate Diploma in Islamic Banking and Financial Management, offered by the Jamal Institute of Management, it is reported, has many takers and is a much sought after course. The college also offers the usual conventional courses, but has systematically strengthened the quality of its faculty team.
Contact Information:-
Address:-
Jamal Mohamed College ( Autonomous)
Post Box No.808, #7 Race Course Road
Khajanagar,
Truchirappalli 620020
Phone Numbers:- 0431-233135, 2331235
Email:- principal@jmc.edu
Website:- www.jmc.eduWhat is special about Shrimati Indira Gandhi College
This is a relatively new college that was established only in the year 1984. However, with its focus on quality of education, this college has become a good quality college. The college shot into prominence when its former principal, Dr. K. Meena, was nominated as the Vice-Chancellor of the Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli. Dr Meena is credited with strengthening the image of the University through distance education programs and enhancement of standards of affiliated colleges.
The college is situated bang opposite to the Tiruchirapalli city's main bus station and it is said to be biggest advantage of most parents who want a safe environment for their girl children. The college offers the MSc(Hospital Adminstration) course that is quite famous. The MBA and MSW courses are beginning to make news and the MSc( Microbiology) course is also said to be in good demand.
According to those interviewed for the purposes of this article, the college has been able to make continuous improvements in the quality of the teaching staff and this has made the college quite famous. The Shrimati Indira Gandhi College Tiruchirappalli has reportedly made impressive strides in the past few years. It is still not an autonomous college, but the teaching methods are far better than most newer colleges of Tiruchirappalli and this has made a difference. According to the locals, the fact that this college is an established centre for the doctorate degree is itself proof of the college's standing. Apart from this, the college repeatedly produces the University ranks, year after year.
Contact Information:-
Address:-
Shrimati Indira Gandhi college
Post Box No.349
Tiruchirappalli 620 002
Phone :- 0431-2701453
Rmail:- sigctr@gmail.com
Website:- www.sigc.eduWhat is special about St.Xavier's College, Palayamkottai
There are problems galore with most rural environment colleges in Tamil Nadu. Firstly, the painful transition from the Tamil to English medium is a challenge for over 95% of the students. The teachers are also confused as most do not know how to manage this problem. Thirdly, the industry linkage is missing and the students lack the vital atmosphere. Fourthly, since the students are mostly first generation learners from farmer families, they lack the supportive environment at home. In cities, none of these problems exist, as both parents are professional teachers, lawyers, doctors, scientists, doctors and so on.
The St.Xavier's College Palayamkottai has conquered all the aforesaid problems and has made a drastic change to the rural environment. It does not offer many new courses. It is an autonomous college of the Manonmaniam Sundanar University, Tirunelveli. The locals are of the opinion that the students prefer conventional courses. In particular, it is mentioned that most graduates take up BPO jobs in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai and then graduate to the IT sector, by acquiring a number of new skill sets. This is of course the set pattern of most rural area students.
Yet, the college is famous for his Master's Degree in Social Work, and the students with the community development specialization often manage to get the good jobs with the various NGOs, reportedly active in this part of India, and in the neighboring Kerala as well. Another important fact is that the rich farmers only want their sons or daughters to become graduates and then get back to their professional farming, and this college is eminently capable of satisfying this felt need. This college is an autonomous college for decades and is very famous in South Tamil Nadu. It has a very good record in sports.
Of late, the autonomous institute, called the Xavier Institute of Management, Palayamkottai, that runs the MBA program, affiliated to the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, is making some impact with an improving placement record. It of couse, has miles to go. The Management of the college is making honest and sincere attempts at improving the standards of education of all its courses. It is a prestigious and most famous college of the Manonmaniyam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli.
Contact Information:-
St.Xavier's College
(Autonomous)
21, North High ground Road
Palayamkottai 627002
Phone:- 0462-2560744, 2561394
Email:- principal@stxavierstn.edu.in
Website:- www.stxavierstan.edu.in Conclusion
Given the fact that the three colleges are situated in the semi-urban/.rural environments, where there are problems galore, the colleges are still able to make a big impact and in the years to come, they will progress to being far better in terms of standards of education, in all courses.