Flying high in calm pursuit
A view of the Sourashtra College. — Photo: K. Ganesan
WHAT WAS started as a minority institution today encompasses all sections of Madurai.
The Sourashtra College began its journey in a humble way, to promote lofty ideals.
Started in June 1967, with the donations of philanthropists, the institution targeted mainly the Sourashtrians, a minority community in Madurai, but has morphed into a college for students of all walks of life, offering a variety of courses in arts and science and commerce. It is a classic case of cultural fusion, catalysed for the cause of higher education.
Fifty per cent of the seats are earmarked for the Sourashtrians, while the rest is open to all.
People from Gujarat are known for making their mark wherever they live, and those Gujaratis, who man the college, are no exception: they have been ably managing the institution, always mindful of the need for assimilating the culture and tradition of Tamil Nadu.
The college, affiliated to the Madurai Kamaraj University, has been involved in, what the management calls, a calm pursuit of knowledge and development of strong character.
Till 1972, it functioned on the Sourashtra High School campus, and was shifted to this present panoramic location on the slopes of Pasumalai. The then Tamil Nadu Governor, K.K. Shah, inaugurated the new campus, constructed on a 35-acre site.
The college has an enrolment of 2,800 students (in both regular and self-financing streams), of whom 30 per cent are girls. It offers 31 courses under the self-financing stream, which was started in 1990, says the Principal, M.D. Manoharan.
Students scramble for a berth in B.Com., B.Sc. (Microbiology), B.Sc. (Chemistry with Biotechnology as a subject), MBA, MCA, and M. Com.
The college is conscious of infrastructure development: it has put together a well-equipped computer laboratory and library, and has constructed good lecture and seminar halls. All science departments have been furnished with advanced equipment. It also boasts of multi-media systems with Internet connectivity.
Sports get equal importance: the college has so far given 22 players to the university teams.
Student attendance is high, and those who maintain good attendance and score high marks in the university examinations get cash incentives. Members of the Sourashtra community have instituted more than 100 endowments for awarding prizes.
Free mid-day meal is provided to the poor and deserving students — a fact that attests the college management's philanthropic leanings.
"Ever since we introduced under-graduate courses in 1971, the college has grown steadily and more so after the self-financing courses were introduced in 1990," says Prof. Manoharan.
The college works in two shifts — in the morning for regular courses and in the evening for self-financing courses. And incidentally, this is one of the colleges, which offer the maximum number of self-financing courses.
The management wants to make amends for its earlier neglect of the Sourashtrian language. "Now we want to popularise the use of the language on the campus," says the Principal.
At present, the college has only a boys' hostel. It plans to open a girls' hostel next year. In keeping with the changing times, the college focuses on placements and job opportunities for its students. The next important step for the college, says the Principal, is to get NAAC accreditation.
Shastry V. Mallady
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