As the only college in Delhi University’s North Campus without NAAC accreditation, the Ramjas College administration is readying to apply for it this year, despite lack of funds.
Over 35 DU-affiliated colleges have received grades from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), but Ramjas, one of the most reputed colleges, has never applied for it. While the college hopes to change that this year, a shortage of funds means it has chosen the route of “sustainable renovation”. Extensive renovation work is underway, but through “reuse” and “recycling”.
“We are doing most of the work internally using waste material from the college to cut down on wastage and expenses,” said principal Dr Manoj Khanna.
As part of this effort, pathways have been smoothed out and repaired with stone slabs thrown out of use from other parts of the campus, and railings have been built out of underground water pipes.
Currently in the works is a rainwater harvesting unit. The covers of its reservoir have been made out of the tops of the college’s out-of-use water coolers.
Other reforms in the run-up to the accreditation bid are creation of a ‘purchasing committee’ and formulation of a standard operating procedure for college-related expenditure. “The aim is to try and move towards improved transparency. We are also going to move our attendance mechanism online. The majority of effort is going into collecting and organising records from all departments and societies for the last five years — financial records, student records, teachers’ publication records, etc,” said Khanna.
NAAC is an autonomous body that grades educational institutes based on their performance, curriculum, evaluation, faculty and infrastructure. Currently, DU colleges with the highest NAAC ratings are SRCC, Hansraj College, LSR College and Miranda House.
