Dnyansadhana college, Thane

Thane is home to finest educational institutes

The city is fast developing and so are its educational institutes. Adnan Attarwala brings to you four such institutions, which are playing an important role in shaping young minds

Dnyansadhana college With an aim to achieve high educational standards for the deserving students in Thane, Dnyanasadhana college of Arts, Science and Commerce was established in 1983 by Satish Pradhan, the then president of Thane Municipal Council, with 28 students. The college, with the goal of imparting quality education to students who are academically, socially and economically backward, now caters to the educational needs of more than 8,000 students with a teaching staff of more than 300 professors. It is duly registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1960, on September 10, 1980. The junior college was recognised by the education department and the government of Maharashtra by an order dated October 22, 1980; a full-fledge degree college was started in June 1983. Affiliated to the University of Mumbai, the college has faculties in arts, science and commerce on an aided basis and BSc Computer Science and Bachelor of Mass Media/BMS on an unaided basis. The college offers all modern facilities such as library, internet club, auditorium, computer laboratory with digital overhead projectors, gymkhana and a gym. It also gives away scholarships, prizes, loans, and books to the students. "Our vision is to develop a centre of excellence in education. Our mission is to strengthen students academically, socially, economically," says Dr Nita Sane, principal of the college. The college has also received a special grant from UCG through which it has constructed a gymnasium and a knowledge centre for its female students and has also developed BMM study edit rooms for its media students. The college has also volunteered itself to be assessed by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, Bangalore, and submitted its self-study report on October 10, 2003. In 2004, a team constituted by the NACC visited the college to validate the self-study report and verify the physical and infrastructural facilities available. The peer team analysed the self-study report and interacted with the principal, teaching and non-teaching staff, parents, alumni, students and management of the college and elicited their views on the functioning and facilities available in the college. "Our college has an efficient self-appraisal mechanism to evaluate the performance of the faculty in teaching, research and evaluation," says Dr Sane. The college also conducts programmes for the benefit of academically weak students. Besides being appreciated for its zero dropout rate, the college has been conferred with prestigious 'Wordsworth' award by the university for securing rank at the TYBA examination. The college engages in activities like community development, social work, AIDS and environmental awareness, it has also adopted 10 municipal schools where students coached by our students. "Our students celebrate Raksha Bandhan with the physically-challenged students of municipal school and also work in collaboration with Samida Charitable Trust in leprosy eradication programme. The college has also organised street plays on social issues. We have promoted Women Developmental Centre at Tilse near Wada in Thane," adds Dr Rane.