Bittersweetness on the rocks

The college timings and the unprofessional conduct of many teachers and the office staff has made college an exhausting experience. There are no proper channels for conveying our complaints and suggestions.

Since it's a college affiliated to Delhi University, the admission was cut off based. I chose to do English Hons. because of my incessant thirst for knowledge. This course covers a variety of fields, broadening my perspective and helping me grow. And quite frankly, English is probably the only thing I never get tired of.

So far, practical learning is something we are gravely lacking in. The course structure, although confusing and sometimes even boring in the beginning, is designed to cover almost every genre and enables a student to enjoy literature in all its depths. For the first two years, we have several subjects under 'Generic Elective' to choose from, such as Home Science, Mathematics, Economics, Sociology, Hindi etc. Our college is one of the only two colleges in DU to offer Apparel Design and Construction as an elective subject, which is what I chose for all four semesters as getting a certain grade will enable me to pursue higher studies in that subject as well.

The placement cell does notify about internships periodically. But since nothing is a compulsion, very few students actually go for college internships. Most of them join the ones they find through other sources. So far, I have not come across a college internships with any stipend.

The college has a placement cell and the placement is pretty average. Since most students continue studying further, the percentage of placement is quite low, as far as I know. There are no major companies that are known to visit the campus. To sum up, most students are unaware of the entire placement procedure since the details are not a matter of public record.

The college as a Freshers' meet, a College fest and Department feats of each department. The college fest is the main attraction, largely because of the celebrities that are invited. The two-day event is a huge success during its culmination. The organisation is lacking in more ways than one. Management, discipline, punctuality are pretty much a disaster in most cases.

Being a government college, it is of course very affordable. There are scholarships and other concessions as offered by the University. The fees for 2nd year for my course was INR 8130, with an extra INR 400 per practical subject.

All the scholarships and financial aids are provided as prescribed by the University. I haven't applied for any. Since I have never heard and since the office staff is pretty irresponsible and unsupportive, I doubt they would be any help in seeking a loan.

The college is known for its focus on sports and the students have won various accolades over the years. Other extracurricular activities are managed by various departments through their societies. Competitions of all sorts are regularly held. Teachers and unions may organise trips, recreational outings etc.

The college does not provide accommodation facility. There are all kinds of PGs nearby. Students even stay at rent and not necessarily in the vicinity of the college. PGs can cost anything between INR 7000-18000 but through my own experience and that of my friends, the food almost never meets the quality standards and most of us either eat out or cook on our own.

There is no platform for student-alumni interaction as a result of which most of us graduate without ever having any. Consequently, nothing is known about their contribution of any kind.

DU is renowned for its chill culture. Exams and assignments have never been an issue of worry or anxiety.

Most teachers are certainly qualified with an impressive work experience. There are younger members in the faculty too who are still doing their PhD. So the faculty is an interesting mix of teachers who, through their various methods of teaching, create a unique experience for students. I say this not only because it's a continuously positive process but also because the students, as a class and as an open-minded group of youngsters have adapted themselves to fill in the spaces where the teachers lack, be it discussions, notes or assignments. Most of the teachers are interactive, sometimes to the point of distraction. But this has very often led to some intriguing discussions and debates during the lectures that help us to think outside the box and urge us to question everything. It would be unfair of me to judge the standard of teaching in general, but I do feel a sense of disappointment every once in a while though that is usually replaced by a greater determination to take a personal initiative. One thing that I wish more teachers would do is to move outside the text of the books and bring to us the whole world through the piece of literature that we are studying, of course, while keeping in mind the time-bound semester system.