Autonomy leads to optimum use of human resources
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The CLHRD was the first to introduce a Bachelor course in human resource development
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CURRICULUM IN ACTION: Students of the College for Leadership and HRD, Mangalore, conducting a Spoken English training programme at the J.T. Mahajan College of Engineering, Faizpur, Maharashtra.
IN THE field of higher education, the most popular word is "autonomy." Though more than three decades have passed after autonomy was introduced in Tamil Nadu, the Government of Karnataka has been playing hide-and-seek with its introduction in the State.
The latest about autonomy is that the Minister for Higher Education has agreed to pass the necessary orders to grant autonomy to over 40 colleges selected by the UGC.
The greatest advantage of autonomy is the freedom in academic matters that an institution enjoys. The syllabi for different courses in an autonomous college are designed by the faculty themselves and the control over academic input by the university is reduced.
There is one college in Mangalore which has shown that an autonomy of the type granted by the UGC alone is not enough and that the hold of a university itself has to be given up. The College for Leadership and HRD (CLHRD), established six years ago, is offering a fully autonomous course of study from the last academic year.
It was the pioneer of the BHRD degree course. It was the only college which was offering the degree from 1999 to 2003. SDM College of Business Management started the course in 2003. In 2004, the Alva's Education Foundation, Moodbidri followed suit. In 2005, the Moti Mahal College did so.
Meanwhile, the UGC has intervened to change BHRD into B.A. (HRD).
CLHRD, which brought in the concept of BHRD, has decided to keep its BHRD. Since the B.A. (HRD) started, it has been offering BHRD and BBM as a composite graduate programme. This is an offer of a BBM degree from Kuvempu University and a BHRD diploma from CLHRD. The course has been designed by professors from different universities and officers from corporate organisations across southern India.
The college specialises in human resource development and it offers no other course except short-term training programmes, branded `FEEL' (Facilitating Excellence in Effective Leadership).
Composite programme
Basics in HRD (BHRD), a part of the composite graduate programme, is offered so as to develop effectiveness in students. Bachelor in Business Management from Kuvempu University is offered so that a student can pursue his/her postgraduate studies. Though two different entities, they are brought together into a composite programme through the teaching, training and testing methods that are incorporated into the course.
Experienced members of the faculty offer training and development programmes.
Exclusive departments such as those for Leadership and Human Capital; Intellectual Capital; and General Proficiency Enhancement assist in the development of the resource available in each student.
While most colleges teach theories in human resource development, this college also develops the human resource available in each student by providing opportunities for hands-on training. The quality of classroom interactions and student support is ensured by limiting the student intake to 25 in a batch.
What is special about this institution is its innovative programmes. For example, the first year BHRD with BBM students did their first human resource development programme at J.T. Mahajan College of Engineering in Faizpur, Maharashtra by training the engineering students in Spoken English. The second year students offered training to primary and high school students of rural areas of Moodbidri taluk.
One of the students said that the greatest advantage for them is that they have a chance to be taught by lecturers who conduct human resource development training programmes in different places.
The lecturers at CLHRD are deputed to other institutions to conduct training programmes in HRD. In fact, the college has made it compulsory for its lecturers to do so for 12 days, annually.
"Quality" is the keyword at CLHRD. As a consultant for the "Roadmap to HRD and TQM" for the Commissionerate of Collegiate Education, this institution has reached out to colleges in the entire State and beyond. It possesses intellectual property which it offers to other institutions.
The Madras Christian College, Chennai, offers a Personality Development programme, which is a compulsory two-semester course for all its students, using the design as well as the intellectual property provided by CLHRD. All the teachers who teach the course at Madras Christian College are trained at CLHRD.
A feather in the cap of this institution is that its students have done well. They have been either employed or selected by merit in entrance tests, for higher studies.
Students who were asked about what made them succeed spoke about the pro-student attitude of the institution and innovative methods of participatory teaching-learning processes.
In the academic year 2006-2007, the college will shift to its new campus. The Principal, K.T.P. Sharma, said the institution had moved out of the B.A. (HRD) course as innovations were not possible within the structures of the regulations of the university.
Assuring quality was difficult because of dilution of the standards fixed by the academic bodies and "haphazard" conduct of examinations. As an institution committed to quality and commitment, he said, it is necessary to accept the challenges of offering a new course which would satisfy the needs of students.
Fee concession
The college has a pro-poor stand too. The SC/ST students admitted till now have been exempted from paying tuition fee. This concession will continue, according to the management. Concessions in fees are offered to students as per the marks they secure in the entrance test, interview and the PU marks together. This goes upto a maximum of 75 per cent concession.
Training and development of the faculty, to enable them to deal with the syllabi in an efficient manner, is also unique in the institution. Any member of the staff can join a course for higher studies such as a correspondence postgraduate course, for which the college will pay the fees.
Along with the salary package, each member of the faculty gets a book, which he or she has to read and make a presentation in front of the other faculty at the end of the month. This system guarantees that a lecturer reads at least 12 books a year and makes an intense study to make presentations on them.
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