The National Institutional Ranking Framework, released by the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development last week, has brought the national capital to the limelight of learning. Six colleges of the Delhi University figured in the top 10 among the best 100 colleges of India.
They are Miranda House, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Dyal Singh and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Prominent colleges such as St. Stephen’s, Hindu and Ramjas, however, are missing in the list. Siddhanta Mishra and Gayathri Mani visited the campuses and spoke to their principals to find out the reason for their success.
Miranda House
Founded: 1948
With alumni as notable as writer Anita Desai, actress Nandita Das, former Speaker Meira Kumar, filmmaker Mira Nair and many more achievers, the glory is in its gene. The red-bricked residential college for women provides courses in Humanities and Science.
“The ranking empowers us all women. We have also successfully submitted the report to NAAC and are waiting for the good grade. Moreover, the process to build good students who in turn contribute to the society will continue,” said Pratibha Jolly, Principal.
Miranda House, which recently completed 70 years, is situated at the university’s North Campus. It provides 11 Honours courses in Humanities, five Honours courses in Science.
On autonomy, Jolly said, “An autonomous college cannot achieve this much. Miranda House is an integral part of DU. It is not a trust college, and is controlled by the university.”
Shri Ram College of Commerce
Founded:1926
The prestigious SRCC offers courses in Commerce and Economics. Founded in 1926 with just 12 students, it has come a long way. Principal SP Rustagi believes the criteria of ranking should be revisited “as many have Arts and Science and score good grades, which take their overall ranking up.
Colleges like SRCC have limitations as we don’t offer Science and other Arts subjects.”
With alumni like Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, the college’s annual Business Conclave has been attended by Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others.
“Ranking and autonomy do not go hand in hand. Both have different criteria, so let’s see,” said Rustagi. SRCC has sought to move away from the university.
Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma
Founded: 1959
In its 12.3-acre campus, ARSD offers 18 different courses in Science, Arts and Commerce for around 4,000 students.
Principal Gyantosh Jha explains there is no such secret to get a good ranking but investment in students. “We are working with four different ministries.
Ours is the first college which conducts a fest just for students from the Northeast; ARSD also has a three-day theatrical festival. All this is a part of the holistic development of students, which, I believe, the authorities were looking for while conducting the rankings.”
The college, according to Jha, needs to overcome challenges, public perception being one of them.
“We have scored almost negative on perception front. We have started work regarding that on ground. ARSD would be the first college to establish a first-of-its-kind Business Incubation Centre in the university in collaboration with the Ministry of MSME,” Jha added.
Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Founded: 1956
Popularly known as LSR, this college even before the HRD Ministry ranking, was counted among one of the top colleges in the country.
Last year, LSR was given a score of 3.61 by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, highest for any college in Delhi University.
However, in the government rating, it has bagged seventh position among the institutes across the country.
The college’s 15-acre campus in south Delhi is popular for courses in social studies and humanities. There are around 2,000 students currently studying 14 different courses at the college.
Dyal Singh College
Founded: 1959
Dyal Singh College, which came under the Delhi University in 1978, boasts of strength of over 4,600 students, including those who come from countries such as Afghanistan, Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal. It offers 16 courses in all the three fields—Arts, Commerce and Science.
“We have good infrastructure and facility for research and innovation programmes.
The college is the first in the university to set up solar panel system, get PNG gas connection with IGL for its canteen and labs.
Our teachers are widely working on various research projects and it also involves students so that they can learn. Recently, we set up an Effluent Treatment Plant for an eco-friendly environment,” said IS Bakshi, principal.
He was all praise for students and teachers. “Innovation projects are done by the undergraduate students and these are only done with interdisciplinary approach,” added Bakshi.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College
Founded: 1990
One of the less popular institutions, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College’s rank has brought good news for the students and faculties. S K Garg, who is the principal since 1998, said the college continues to make efforts towards creating a suitable environment for the students.
“Recently, the college built a new campus in Dwarka. We have features such as rain water harvesting system and water recycling plant in the new campus. We intend to use the rooftops for generation of solar power and install a waste treatment plant for addressing the issues of bio-waste disposal,” said Garg.
The college provides various undergraduate courses, including nine honours, in all the three general streams. The faculty has published 86 research papers in national and international journals and 142 have been presented in various seminars and conferences.
On autonomy, Garg said, “It gives freedom to the college to take its own decisions on designing the course and curricular activities.”
As an indicator of the college’s good performance, passing percentage has risen in the last 10 years. The number of students passing in first division has also risen from 13 per cent in 1999 to 45 per cent in 2012 and 68 per cent in 2014.