College experience is all about becoming part of the real world. The extra and co-curricular events in college give students an inkling of what to expect when they are ready launch their career.
The extracurricular events, conducted by some institutions, have established themselves for their uniqueness. For instance, inter-college fests such as IIT Madras’ Saarang and Shaastra, Anna University’s Kurukshetra and Loyola College’s Down Sterling, along with VIT Vellore’s Gravitas, and SRM’s Milan, are much awaited events. Not just for students of the institution but also for students from other colleges.
Most college management and faculty give students their space — to learn from their peers and use the window to learn about themselves as well. National institutes such as IIT-Madras give students freedom to plan and design the events. Deemed universities also allocate funds for cultural programmes. But there are some colleges where this aspect is mere tokenism.
Much to look forward to
Sonu Joseph, head, department of languages at Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, said, “We got ₹1.3 lakh for a one-day event, and such events bring together an eclectic mix of students with varied backgrounds. Institutions go an extra mile to introduce young achievers who inspire students. From TEDx Talks to DJ nights, there is much to look forward to.”
S. Srianantha Kamali, a final year student of SSN College of Engineering, said the three-day cultural event Instincts which is held in March annually, and the tech fest, Invente, are much-awaited programmes. “I get to meet see my school friends and their friends,” she adds.
However, her school batchmate, who is studying in another self-financing autonomous college affiliated to Anna University, said that in her college, only two events are held - the sports day and the teacher’s day in September. “We put up dances and skits for teachers,” she said.
Grooming young students
R. Raman, principal of Presidency College, which is ranked the best among arts and science colleges in the country by the National Institutional Ranking Framework, said that the students benefit from the Readers’ Club and the competitive games. The alumni also pitch in with events to groom the young students, he added.
Madras Christian College has several clubs where students learn from peers to not only groom themselves but also their talents, which later in life, will help them in building their individuality. Principal P. Wilson sets much store out of classroom activities.
No social intelligence
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we found that the students, because of absenteeism, did not have any opportunity to develop social intelligence. In addition, cognitive intelligence was also lacking. One and half years of absenteeism has an impact of 10 years of change,” he explained.
“If we confine students to the classroom then their social intelligence will be limited. At MCC, grooming happens outside the classroom too,” he added.
