District level The programme concluded with a colourful cultural Inter College Youth Festival 2012-2013 programme at the evening on 2nd February 2013 where fac- Date: 31/01/2013 to 02/02/2013 ulty members and staff of the college presented different cultural (musical) performances. IQAC NEWSLETTER July 2011 to June 2013 - Vol. 2 UGC sponsored one day workshop on AN ANNUAL NEWS LETTER FROM IQAC, BHOLANATH COLLEGE, “Implementation of UGC Scheme during the 11th Plan Period” Contents (Date: 05/05/2013) 1. Semester System and its implemen- 01 - 03 An UGC sponsored one day workshop on "Imple- tation at undergraduate colleges affili- mentation of UGC Scheme during 11th Plan Period" was ated to organized in the college on 5th May,2013 in collaboration with Chilarai College, Golakganj. Prof. Krishna Gopal A district level Inter College Youth Festival was Bhattacharyya, Department of and Former Di- organized by the college from 31st January 2013 to 2nd Feb- 3. Drop out in Higher 03 - 04 rector, UGC Academic Staff College of Gauhati University ruary 2013. Four number of colleges of graced the occasion as resource person. Representatives of different colleges of Dhubri and Bongaigaon districts took part in the workshop. Sri Noor Hussain, Coordinator, IQAC 4. Activities 04 - 08 of the college extended Vote Of Thanks to all who made the workshop a successful one.

Semester system and its implementation at undergraduate colleges affiliated to Gauhati University

Brajendra Kanta Sarmah participated in different events of the festival. Dr. Prahlad Associate Professor Basumatari, Assistant Professor, Department of Department of , Editorial Board Bholanath College, Dhubri Arts Block (front) of the college

Dr. Ahijjudin Sheikh (President / Principal) Introduction Semester System is widely accepted educational Sri C. N. Bepari (Member / Vice Principal) system all over the World. Educational system all over the World has never been consistent over the years. According Sri Basir Ahmed (Member) to Myron Tribus (1994), there are innumerable suggestions for reforms and changes in educational system and there Dr. Susmita Sengupta (Member) are infinite number of good ideas and research results. In- troduction of semester system can be said to be the product Sri Noor Hussain (Coordinator, IQAC) of these ideas and researches. It is observed that most of the countries of the World today are constantly switching on Sri Sudarshan Roy (Editor / Joint Convenor, IQAC) to the semester system. In China, all schools including of the college acted as the coordinator of the festival. Dif- elementary, middle and high schools, colleges and universi- ferent sports and cultural (musical) competitions were held Arts Block (back) of the college Sri Gautam Roy (Member) ties have semester system of education. Following the foot- in the festival. steps of China, USA and other important nations, our coun- Sri Samuel Sheikh (Member/Co-editor) try also introduced the semester system. Our State QUEST, IQAC News Letter Published by – too has introduced the semester system in the universities Sri Sudarshan Roy on behalf of IQAC Bholanath College, Dhubri IQAC Newsletter, Vol.- 2, August - 2013 Rs. : 10/- 0108 and undergraduate colleges since 2011. Universities of Assam turning to just last minute studies which many stu- pointed out the role and need of all round development and various events of different departments like sports, cultural, introduced semester system for bringing Higher Education dents resort to because of the structure of the cur- empowerment of the girl child in building a nation. The meeting music etc. In the valedictory programme on 1st February at par with the best academic practices and standards being rent evaluation system. followed a programme of “Do as you wish” for the girl child 2013 Dr. Ahijuddin Sheikh, Principal, of the college had dis- followed Worldwide. With the same objective the universi- 6) This system keeps the students in touch with the of the staff of the college to inspire them. tributed the prizes to the winners. ties introduces semester system at the under graduates col- books and other study materials the whole year. It leges affiliated under concerned universities. can prove beneficial for the students. 7) The students will be constantly evaluated and the Some of the objectives of semester system are depth and breadth of their knowledge will improve. a) The semester system allows greater interaction with Celebration of Republic Day 2013 teachers and the students will be more focused on Problems faced by the undergraduate colleges as well (Date: 26/01/2013) Workshop on “Molecular Biology Techniques” preparing throughout the year. as by the students after the introduction of semester (Date: 28/01/2013 & 29/01/2013) b) Sessional examinations act as model tests for the system by Gauhati University The 64th Republic Day of the nation was celebrated end semester examinations. We know that the success of any newly introduced by the college on 26th January 2013. Dr. Ahijuddin Sheikh, c) A detailed account of the student's progress graph educational system depends on it effective implementation. Principal of the college hoisted the natioanal flag at 8 a.m. at can be depicted in semester system. It includes a well competent, sincere and honest administra- the college campus. The principal and the vice-principal of d) The students get more chances to remain well tive staff, proper curriculum design, adequate number of the college delivered important lectures addressing the stu- versed. teaching staff, infrastructure facilities etc. But, after the in- dents and the staff of the college. e) It is also part of the current trend in education sys- troduction of semester system at undergraduate colleges tem in other parts of the country and beyond under Gauhati University it is observed that the academic performance of most of the students deteriorates rather than Merits of semester system: improvements. There are many reasons some of which are Some of the merits of the semester system are summa- mentioned below: Annual College Week 2013 rized as follows - (Date: 27/01/2013 to 01/02/2013) 1) It keeps students busy all year round with the same 1) No scientific approach has been taken by the uni- level of burden instead of piling up of work at the versity to design the curriculum to fit semester sys- end of the year. Comparing it to a annual system it tem. In case of some subjects syllabus is prepared The Institutional Bio-Tech Hub of the college orga- is more flexible and has a slower pace of studies by dividing the one year syllabus into two halves. nized a two-day workshop from 28/01/2013 to 29/01/2013 at which is good for the students. This system forces This problem may be overcome through detailed dis- the college. Mr. Deben Sarma, former professor of Botany the students to study consistently, to work hard, to cussion between the university departments and be self dependent and to manage the time. college teachers of concerned departments. 2) It is a kind of concentrated learning in comparison 2) The semester system impose heavy burden upon the to annual system which is spread over a full year teachers and as well as the students. Sessional ex- and one should try hard at remembering what was aminations, departmental seminars end semester taught in the first month. examination's script evaluation etc. leave lesser 3) Semester system not only helps the students but also amount of time for teachers to concentrate on teach- helps the teachers because they have to teach just ings. In our State Colleges have higher secondary one or two or hardly three units in a semester rather course also. Hence the teachers have more pres- than four or five units for a full year. They need to sure on teaching and as a result it affect the teach- concentrate on lesser number of units. ing skill of the teachers. Some colleges have not The annual college week was organized by the 4) The compulsion of sessional examinations in semes- adequate permanents teaching staff. So, the imple- college on 27th January 2013. The students participated in ter system has made the students presence in col- mentation of semester system in under graduate leges all through the year. Now a days, there are colleges shows a gloomy picture. The authority con- too many distractions available for the youth to go cerned should do the needful for appointment of astray. Engagement in sessional and end semester permanent teachers and to shift the H.S. Courses examinations in the colleges can keep the students to H.S. School in a phased manner. of the college graced the occasion as Guest of Honour in the busy in more fruitful works, which will be person- 3) There are huge number students in our colleges spe- meeting of the workshop. Dr. Jatin Sarma, HOD, Depart- ally beneficial for the students cially in Arts and Commerce streams. Feedback to ment of and Dean Faculty of , 5) A scientifically designed semester system allows the students on their assignments, projects, sessional Bodoland University, Kokrajhar acted as resource person in students no luxury of studying at the last moment examinations by the teacher is most essential for the workshop. A good number of participants registered their and still getting good marks in the final examina- learning of the students as well as for proper imple- names in the workshop and successfully acquired hands on tions. In this system no one can afford to take ones mentation of the semester system. A teacher teach- training of different bio-techniques. studies lightly. This is certainly a good point of the ing in a semester to a class of 200 or more students semester system and it will keep everyone working may not find enough time for giving timely and all through their college life seriously rather that through feedback to each and every student either in theory class or assignment. Semester system is fruitful where there is only a few students. IQAC Newsletter, Vol.- 2, August - 2013 IQAC Newsletter, Vol.- 2, August - 2013 0702 college in collaboration with Assam College Teachers' As- College Students' Union (BNCSU) on 4th August 2012 to 4) There are no adequate infrastructure facilities in our Drop out in Higher Education sociation (ACTA) from 27th June 2012 to 28th June 2012. protest against ethnic conflicts that had occurred in different colleges specially in rural colleges. That is why se- Nabanita Devi Prof. P. C. Bhattacharyya, Department of Zoology, Gauhati places of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) mester classes are to be suspended at the time of Associate Professor University, Guwahati, Prof. K. G. Bhattacharyya, Depart- in the month of July 2012 where gross violation of human H.S. Final examination and in some other cases. Department of Philosophy, ment of Chemistry, Gauhati University, Gauhati, Prof. J. N. rights was observed. The procession was also against the This creates a problem for teachers for timely B.N College, Dhubri, Assam Ganguly, Department of Chemistry, Gauhati University, Prof. violence against women in general. A large number of stu- completion of semester courses. So, arrangement Arnab Sen, Department of Botany, University of North Ben- dents along with members of the aforesaid association took of adequate infrastructures in colleges is most im- gal, Siliguri, Prof. Dhritikesh Chakrabarty, Department of Sta- part in the movement. The procession started from the col- portant for effective implementation of semester Bill Gates is a model for education sceptics. Mr. tistics, Handique Girls College, Guwahati attended the semi- lege campus and was led to the office of the Deputy Com- system. Gates is considered to be THE MAN who dropped out of nar as resource persons. A total of 22 seminar papers were missioner, Dhubri district followed by the submission of memo- 5) Declaration of semester result before the start of college and went on to become the richest person in the world presented in the seminar which were published in the form randum to the Deputy Commissioner. the next semester is pre- requisite for proper func- by revolutionizing the computer industry. Like Gates, many of a proceeding by the college. tioning of semester system. Unfortunately delayed other entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, declaration of end semester results by the univer- Oprah Winfrey dropped out of college. The sceptics sug- sity becomes a chronic problem and the students gested that if they did not need a college degree, may be are being harassed in different ways. they do not need either. But in his recent published blog post Gates himself rejected this argument. In his words, "Yes, Meeting on all round development and you need a college degree." Gates says, "although I dropped Silent procession against Ethnic conflicts and Conclusion violence against women empowerment of girl child for nation building out of college and pursuing a career in software, getting a (Date: 18/01/2013) It is observed that the semester system implemented degree is a much surer path to success." (04/08/2012) by Gauhati University in undergraduate colleges depict a very unsatisfactory out come. It has been imposed upon the col- College graduates are more likely to find a reward- leges more specifically upon the students' without proper ing job, and higher income and evidence shows live healthier homework. It is true that any change in the academic sys- lives than if they do not have degree. Markets across the tem will certainly give rise to some problems in the initial globe have seen a rise up in the number of start ups. Eco- stage. But the problems may be shorted out through open nomically emerging countries like, , China have seen a discussion with the stakeholders i.e. students, teachers, ad- surge in the investments pouring in start ups. Recent data ministrators and implementing authorities. has shown that the start ups has risen by 300% in 2015 in comparison to last year. As the success stories of these young entrepreneurs reached out to the world , some teenagers, somewhere dreams of becoming the next one. But this race has created References an illusion which makes youngsters go frenzy over the idea # Atul Das: Challenges in semester system, Academic Edu- of dropping out of college and venturing their own start ups. cation. But their probability of success is very low because of lack # Mumtaz Mazumdar: Introduction of semester system in of skill as well as experience. Indian Colleges - Team paper (advanced seminar) - Soci- The IQAC of the college organized a meeting on the ology. So, a complete and sound higher education prepares B N College Teachers' Association (BNCTA) had us to be competent enough. So, instead of dropping out of all round development and empowerment of girl child for # Deccan Herald: Semester system; boon or bane. undertaken a silent procession in collaboration with B. N. college, it is imperative to have a complete degree which will # Asfandyar Yousaf, Muhammad Hasin: Case study of help us to get a job with better prospects. Annual and semester system of Examination on Govt. College of Management . Peshawar, Pakistan, But, getting a degree is not enough. A recent study International Journal of Academic Research in Bussiness revealed that inspite of having a degree, a large number of and social science, 2012, Vol. 2(9). youths remain unemployed. There is in fact, a dearth of "em- # Marami Goswami: Implementation of semester system at ployable unemployed". So, an industry specific or sector spe- undergraduate level and our experience. ACTA, Bullein, cific training will go a long way in making oneself employ- Vol.-XX; Oct-2013. able. In short skill development courses are to be introduced in the curriculum. Another aspects of drop out problem is the children of under privileged classes who could not complete their stud- ies due to financial hardship. In such cases Govt. and the society at large should take the initiative to assists those young people. Socio- cultural factor is also to some extent respon- nation building under the presidentship of Dr. Ahijuddin Sheikh, sible in drop out of college. In some section of the societies, Principal of the college. Several teachers of the college have IQAC Newsletter, Vol.- 2, August - 2013 IQAC Newsletter, Vol.- 2, August - 2013 0306 especially girls are not encouraged to pursue their studies. It Department of Zoology, Gulbarga University, Gulbarga and Inauguration of Day Care Centre is the duty of each and every member of the society to cre- Prof. Kiran Kala Jain, Former Principal, Ch. Ishwar Singh (Date: 23/09/2011) ate awareness about the significance of higher education. Kanya Mahavidyala, Kurukshetra, Haryana were Member Coordinator and Member of the team respectively. The team A Day Care Centre was inaugurated in the college Right to education policy can be extended to the assessed the college in all respects and submitted its report premises on 23rd September 2011 for the benefit of the col- higher education level. Although both the state and central to the NAAC office, Bangalore. The college was able to lege employees having kids. In the inaugural lecture the prin- govt. have introduced various scholarships both for the poor achieve 2.82 CGPA in the said NAAC Assessment. cipal of the college highlighted the need of child rearing day and girls students, they should be reached to the beneficia- care centre in the college especially for female employees ries. It is the duty of the govt. to keep watch on this. with kids. The centre is equipped with all the facilities for play and hospitality of the children to be cared. Installation of Multi Gym Unit at the college (19th February 2011) NAAC Peer Team visit to B N College A Multi Gym facility for the students and staff was opened in the college campus on 19th February 2011. The Quiz competition on (14th, 15th and 16th February 2011) unit helps a lot in maintaining good health of those who have "Life and Teaching of Swami Vivekananda" accessed to it. (Date: 04/11/2011) Chandra Barua Playground and won the First Prize (Best Parade Team) for the college unit of NCC. A quiz competition on "Life and Teaching of Swami Vivekananda" was organized by the college on 4th Novem- Observation of World Environment Day ber 2011in collaboration with Bharat Vikash Parishad, Dhubri (5th June 2011) Branch. A large number of students of the college partici- Health Awareness and Medical Checkup Camp pated in the competition where Dr. Dhruba Chakarbortty, (Date: 07/02/2012) The college observed the World Environment Day Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry acted as Quiz on 5th June 2011. The programme started with a lecture Master. A health awareness and medical checkup camp was from Dr. Ahijuddin Sheikh, Principal of the college where he organized at Modhusolmari Pt.II by the NSS unit of the col- emphasized the need of protection of environment to lead a lege led by Rezibul Alom, Assistant Profesor, Department of healthy life. As a part of the programme, plantation and cam- Political Science on 7th February 2012. The programme un- pus cleaning were undertaken where the staff and the stu- Celebration of Republic Day 2012 dertook a health and hygiene awareness campaign in the dents actively participated to make the campus clean, green (Date: 26/01/2012) village followed by a medical checkup for the villagers by and plastic free. medical support staff of the college where several villagers took part.

The Peer Team of National Assessment and Ac- Observation of Independence Day 2011 creditation Council (NAAC) visited the college from 14th (Date: 15/08/2011) National Seminar on February to 16th February 2011. The team was headed by “Biological diversity and environment” the Chairman, Vasant M. Chavan, Former Pro V.C., Shivaji The 65th Independence Day of the nation was ob- (Date: 27/06/2012 and 28/06/2012) University, Institute of Management. Prof. Bhaskar N. Joshi, served by the college family at the college campus with hoist- ing of National flag by the Principal of the college followed by a brief lecture where he recalled the Heroes of the Na- tion who gave supreme sacrifice for the emancipation of the Nation from the shackle of British Imperialism.

Observation of College Foundation Day 2011 (Date: 16/08/2011) The 63rd Republic Day of the nation was celebrated The College Foundation Day was observed on 16th by the college on 26th January 2012. Dr. Ahijuddin Sheikh, August 2011 at the college premises with the hoisting of the Principal of the college hoisted the natioanal flag at 8 a.m. at College Flag at 8.00 a.m. followed by a popular talk on the the college campus. The principal and the vice-principal of newly introduced semester system at Degree Level under the college delivered important lectures addressing the stu- the Gauhati University. In evening the programme concluded dents and the staff of the college. The NCC Unit of the college participated in the with the illumination of the college campus by the students A UGC sponsored two-day National Seminar on district headquarter parade programme at Raja Prabhat and staff. "Biological diversity and environment" was organized by the IQAC Newsletter, Vol.- 2, August - 2013 IQAC Newsletter, Vol.- 2, August - 2013 0504