SCIENCE

Loyola is still the best while St. Xavier’s Kolkata leapfrogs to the second rank. Good news for Madras Christian College and St. Xavier’s College Ahmedabad as they make it to the elite list.

PICTURE SPEAK

FLYING HIGH: Science students make Loyola proud

The criteria of selection amply reflect the philosophy of education in Loyola College, which has retained its No. 1 position in the science stream since last year. While Loyola has been constant in the survey, there have been marked shifts elsewhere in the science stream. For instance, St. Xavier’s, Kolkata, moved from No. 8 to No. 2, while St. Xavier’s, Ahmedabad, made it to No. 3 from No.11. St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, found itself slipping from the second place last year to the fifth position this year.

What perhaps has kept Loyola in the lead is the fact that it is not content with kindling intellectual curiosity alone. “Research is imperative,” says Father Albert Muthumalai, principal of the college, adding, “It has to reach the ordinary man.”

TOP 10 COLLEGES

2007 - 2006 1 Loyola College, Chennai 1 2 St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata 8 3 St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad 11 4 St. Stephen’s College, Delhi 5 5 St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai 2 6 Madras Christian College, Chennai - 7 Presidency College, Chennai 3 8 Presidency College, Kolkata 4 9 Fergusson College, Pune 6 10 Christ College, Bangalore 10 National rankings are derived from a combination of perceptual and factual scores. Colleges that did not provide factual information were not ranked. New entrant in Top 10. (-) Not ranked in the 2006 top 20.

Playing proud host to the Entomology Research Institute that is exclusively dedicated to the investigation of diverse aspects of insect-plant interactions, biological control, bio-diversity, bio pesticides, molecular biology and genetic engineering, Loyola College has tied up with foreign universities to offer students more exposure and experience in these areas. Following a huge response in biotechnology, the college plans to introduce an M.Phil programme in the same field with two more masters’ subjects—nanotechnology and nanoscience as well as food chemistry and food processing.

An institute that does not rest on its laurels, the 96-acre citadel of excellence has consistently reinvented its curriculum to suit the needs of society. In the recent past, as an offshoot of zoology, the science department has introduced a post-graduate programme called medical lab technology. The success of this course is evident from its 100 per cent placement rates. “All our students found jobs in leading hospitals,” says Father Muthumalai.

CITY-WISE RANKING - SCIENCE

AHMEDABAD 1. St. Xavier’s College 2. Bhavan’s R.A. College 3. M.G. Science Institute 4. C.U. Shah Science College 5. Gujarat Arts and Science College BANGALORE 1. Christ College 2. St. Joseph’s College 3. Mount Carmel College 4. The Oxford College 5. Jyoti Nivas College CHENNAI 1. Loyola College 2. Madras Christian College 3. Presidency College 4. Stella Maris College 5. Women’s Christian College KOCHI 1. Sacred Heart College 2. Bharat Matha College 3. St. Teresa’s College 4. Maharaja’s College 5. St. Albert’s College CHANDIGARH 1. DAV College 2. MCM DAV College 3. Govt College for Girls 4. Sri Guru Gobind Singh College 5. Govt College for Boys DELHI 1. St. Stephen’s College 2. Hindu College 3. Miranda House 4. Hansraj College 5. Ramjas College HYDERABAD 1. Univ College for Women, Osmania University 2. Loyola Academy 3. St. Ann’s College for Women 4. Nizam College, Osmania Univ 5. Kasturba Gandhi College JAIPUR 1. International College for Girls 2. Kanodia Girls’ College 3. S.S. Jain Subodh College 4. Agarwal College 5. Lal Bahadur Shastri College KOLKATA 1. St. Xavier’s College 2. Presidency College 3. Lady Brabourne College 4. Bethune College 5. Scottish Church College LUCKNOW 1. Faculty of Science, Lucknow University 2. Isabella Thoburn College 3. DAV Degree College 4. Lucknow Christian College 5. Shia Degree College MUMBAI 1. St. Xavier’s College 2. Wilson College 3. K.J. Somaiya College of Science & Commerce 4. Ramnarain Ruia College 5. D.G. Ruparel College PUNE 1. Fergusson College 2. Nowrosjee Wadia College 3. Bharti Vidyapeeth 4. Modern College 5. BJS College For Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, the rankings are based on perceptual and factual scores. For Ahmedabad, Cochin, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow and Pune, the rankings are based on perceptual scores only.

To add a dash of creativity in the science stream, Loyola has also launched a post-graduate degree programme in bio-medical instrumentation science that was approved by the UGC under a special scheme along with a grant of Rs 35 lakh to design infrastructure for the same.

PICTURE SPEAK

LEARNING CURVE: Xavier’s, Kolkata, which has made it to the second spot, focuses on activity

A majestic landmark on Chennai’s plush Sterling Road at Nungambakkam, the foundation stone of Loyola College was laid on March 10, 1924 and the first batch of 75 students was enrolled the following year in mathematics, history and economics. Affiliated to the University of Madras, Loyola attained autonomous status in 1978 and has consciously adopted innovative methods of teaching and evaluation. The UGC called it a “college with a potential for excellence”, while the NAAC re-accredited Loyola at an A+ level last year.

In the principal’s office, there is a tall notice board that reveals the size and magnitude of Loyola College. The under-graduate students’ count says 5,692, while the post-graduate count is 1,141. As many as 323 teaching staff and 133 non-teaching staff work relentlessly to retain the inherent values of this learning zone and churn out able professionals who are also sensitive human beings.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

“We have arranged for multimedia setups to make the classes more interactive.” FR. P.C. MATHEW, ST. XAVIER’S, KOLKATA

Students have always flocked to St. Xavier’s to study arts and commerce. But some great new subjects and state-of-the-art facilities have ensured in the last few years that science subjects are no less sought after. Apart from the age-old subjects like physics, chemistry and biology, there are new draws like microbiology and biotechnology. Also, post-graduate courses in computer science and astrophysics are in the offing. Computer science saw 23 out of its 31 students getting placements last year. The college recently tied up with IBM where it will give training to the company’s fresh recruits.

They will get an MS degree from Mysore University.

Meanwhile, St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad, which is at the third position in the survey, has built a reputation for the scientific research conducted at the undergraduate level. Students in the science departments are encouraged to take up guided research projects from the undergraduate level, mainly in bio-sciences, and 10 students are selected every year for guided research projects. At the end of every year, the projects are evaluated and students are awarded scholarships on merit. “We got an A-plus when we went for re-accreditation recently from NAAC,” says Father Francis Parmar, principal of the college, adding, the NAAC team made a special note of the college’s research work in diverse areas such as DNA finger printing, plasma and polymer research, ozone and atmospheric science, neutron star, particle physics and nanotechnology.

“One more thing that marks out the college is its humane approach. We have two full-time teachers as counsellors who work on students who have psychological problems,” says Father Parmar. As the college has proved, cutting-edge science with a gentle, humane approach can be a formidable combination.

-with Uday Mahurkar in Ahmedabad and Swagata Sen in Kolkata

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