Brief History

The Department of Botany, Vyasanagar Autonomous College, Jajpur, Odisha was established in 1977 with a degree course (pass) under Utkal University, Vanivihar, Bhubaneswar and owes its origin to the devoted and tenacious efforts of the great soul of Vyasadev. The Department of Botany has been at the forefront of teaching in plant science since its year of establishment. The original aim of providing quality education to the educationally underprivileged tribe of this locality has been successfully fulfilled in 1978, when this department of Botany accorded due recognition to establish Botany (Honours) courses since then the Department has shown its extraordinary performances towards imparting knowledge over plant science and its various scope among students. The Department students also participated in the various programme and acquired useful skill in achieving full knowledge over plant science.

Posts sanctioned and filled

Number of teaching posts sanctioned and filled

Number of academic support staff (technical) and administrative staff: sanctioned and filled:           03 (Demo.)/02

Percentage of classes taken by temporary faculty–programme-wise information:           Nil

Programme-wise Student-Teacher Ratio:           1:26

Faculty recharging strategies:           Nil

Projects and Funding

• Number of faculty with ongoing projects from a) national b) international funding agencies and c)Total grants received. Mention names of funding agencies and grants received project-wise:           Nil
• Departmental projects funded by DST-FIST; DBT, ICSSR, etc. total grants received:           Nil

Research facility/centre

• state recognition
• national recognition : Nil
• international recognition

Consultancy and Patents

Details of patents and income generated:           Nil

Areas of consultancy and income generated:           Nil

Awards/recognitions

Awards/recognitions received at the national and international level by Faculty:           Nil

•Doctoral / postdoctoral fellows:           01

Students:           One student ranked 6^th in Utkal University & one student ranked 9^th in Utkal University. One student best Graduate.

Seminars and Conferences

Seminars/ Conferences/Workshops organized and the source of funding (national / international) with details of outstanding participants, if any.

National seminar on “Medicinal & Aromatic Plants : Traditional Knowledge and Current Research” financed by UGC.

Student projects and Other Assistance

•percentage of students who have done in-house projects including inter-departmental:100%

percentage of students doing projects in collaboration with industries/institutes:    Nil

Financial Assistance

Number of students of the department getting financial assistance from College.- 30% of students got free ship, SSG and SAF, financial aid from the college.

Diversity of students

Student progression

Diversity of staff

Percentage of  faculty who are graduates

of the same parent university: 100%

from other universities within the State: -

from other universities from other States: -

Number of faculty who were awarded Ph.D., D.Sc. and D.Litt. during the assessment period: One (Dr. Mrs. Prativa Parida on 2018)

1. Library: Yes
2. Internet facilities for staff and students: Yes
3. Total number of classrooms: 14
4. Classrooms with ICT facility: Yes (One Smart Class)
5. Students’ laboratories: Yes
6. Research laboratories: Yes

30. On curriculum as well as teaching-learning-evaluation: Yes, the evaluation is made regularly at the conducting board by the faculty.
31. Students on staff, curriculum as well as teaching-learning-evaluation: Students feed back is collected regularly.The responses of students are presented in the Board of Studies meeting.
32. Alumni and employers on the programmes: Views of Alumini members are always sought & reflected in the progress of the Deptt.

• Lopamudra Sahu (KNDA)
• Anima Rout
• Amulya Mallick
• Pravat Kumar Sahu
• Subrat Kumar Mahalik
• Manashi Rout (ICCI Bank Manager)
• Manoj Kumar Kar (Assistant Professor)
• Rojalin Dhal (SBI)
• Debiprasad Samantray (Assistant Professor)

1. Give details of student enrichment programmes (special lectures / workshops / seminar) with external experts.

National level seminar on “Medicinal Plants & Aromatic Plants”. Internal seminars are conducted by the students and faculty regularly.

33. List the teaching methods adopted by the faculty for different programmes.

The college regularly conducts Internal Assessment exam & marks secured in that help the teachers to assess the standard of the students to advice them according to improve their standard.

34. How does the department ensure that programme objectives are constantly met and learning outcomes monitored?

Lecture method, Question answer method adopted in delivering programmes. Seminars are also organized to develop the learning of the students.

35. Highlight the participation of students and faculty in extension activities.

Every year the students organize field study survey to know about the medicinal plants and their used.

36. Give details of “beyond syllabus scholarly activities” of the department.

Participation of students in Indoor & Outdoor game. In different cultural activities, in quiz, debate organized in college & university level.

37. State whether the programme/ department is accredited/ graded by other agencies. Give details.

The college is centrally accredited by NAAC & “Centre for Potential & Excellence”

Strength:

• The department has well-furnished laboratories for students and faculty.
• Classrooms are ICT equipped.
• Internal Seminars are conducted regularly.
• Teachers are giving extra time to students.
• The department has a good collection of medicinal plant in our Botanical garden.

Weakness: 

• The time table design is not suitable.
• The classrooms are not spacious
• Lack of an adequate number of faculty members
• Adequate numbers of books are not available in the seminar.
• Poor attendance in Seminars

Opportunity:

• The departmental course is designed to meet the changing need of the students.
• The available infrastructure could be better used for upholding the teaching-learning process.

Challenges:

• Making the present course curriculum at par with the national level.
• Raising the level competition with other institution.

Efforts are on to open G. Class and career-oriented programme in the department.

To ensure and enhance the quality of our students by nourishing their aptitudes and providing better opportunities for their growth. To achieve academic excellence in all faculties within a span of five years.

To guide our students for a healthy social transformation and introduce new courses that are useful and relevant. the organisation of seminars, workshops etc. to enable students and staff to reap benefits of knowledge explosion. To involve the alumni for the betterment of the department and exert peer influence on the collegiate.

• To help create a green belt around the campus in order to promote echo-consciousness.
• To promote and facilitate research activities both among teachers and students for fulfilling societal needs.
• To encourage cultural and literary activities to make the campus lively and vibrant.

For the all round development of students, all the staff members of the department are engaged in different programmes and activities, where teachers and students take part actively. Students achievement in various fields are satisfactory and encouraging.

1. Students performance
   1. Honours in Botany was opened in this college with 16 seats in the year 1990-91. As a large number of students are attracted to this department and opting for Botany Honours, the college authorities have increased the number of seats from 16 to 32 with effect from the academic session, 1993-94.
   2. Results of our students are highly satisfactory. A good number of students are getting 1^st class (Hons.) with distinction continuously for the last 12 years.
   3. Three students from this department secured good ranks (i.e. 1st class 3rd, 5th and 7th) in the University final examinations. Some of our students are also doing well in post-graduate courses after passing from this department.
   4. Many students are involved in various co-curricular activities and have bagged prizes in various college competitions.
2. Departmental seminars & group discussion

The department holds seminars from time to time by inviting eminent personalities including scientists and educationists to deliver talks. Faculty members also deliver talks, especially after attending refresher courses, seminars and workshops.

Syllabus related subjects are given to the honours students for seminar talks, which are usually held on 2nd and 4th Friday of each month in the seminar room. Likewise, group discussions are also arranged among the students with a view to creating interest in the subject. All the teachers and students of the department take part in the above-mentioned programmes for meaningful interaction and mutual benefit.

The department organized a UGC sponsored National Seminar on “Medicinal plants in our environment. Their utilization and conservation” on the 6th February 2000. More than 250 participants including students, teachers and scientists all over India  attended the said seminar. A proceeding of the seminar was published on the occasion.  

3. Wall magazine – “Nilotpala”

Opportunity is given to the students for displaying short articles on the subject and other related fields in the Wall magazine – “Nilotpala” every month. This is done under the supervision of the Professor-in-charge of the wall magazine.

4. Departmental test

In addition to the regular college examinations (half-yearly and annual) our department holds monthly tests (both theory and practical) for the improvement in the academic standard of the students.

5. Project for students

Every year Botany Honours students are given Minor projects on various topics to prepare and submit at the time of examination for internal assessment. This assignment is given for creativeness  in general and for the specific topic in particular. The subject matters include chart preparation, collection of plant specimens, economic products, short description of the plant specimens, field study, etc. Students prepare their reports (including field report) under the guidance of the Professor-in-charge, which are to be submitted at the time of final practical examination for evaluation.

6. Departmental Library

It is well maintained with 222 number of books (as on July 2004). Text and reference books are regularly issued to the honours students for their academic benefit. Reference books and journals are also issued to the interested students after class hour. It is maintained by the Professor-in-charge of the departmental library.

7. Prize distribution

Bright students of the department are felicitated during the annual function of the department on this occasion. Prizes are also distributed among the students for the best article displayed in the wall magazine, for the best seminar talk delivered during the year, and for securing the highest mark in the last annual examination.

8. Botanical Garden

With the initiative of the college authority, the teachers and the students, a Botanical garden has been developed in the vicinity of the Botany department. This garden is maintained by the staff members and the students of this department. It creates a sense of cleanliness and beauty inside the ‘Science block’. This garden is having about 80 plants of academic interest. The most important feature of this garden is its inclusion of about fifty potential medicinal plants. This creates awareness among the students about the curative value of these plants.

9. Herbarium unit

A ‘herbarium unit’ has been established in the Department of Botany. It houses about 1000 flowering plants including 400 medicinal plants. This facility of this department is being utilized by other colleges situated in and around Jajpur district of Orissa for the identification of plants. It is claimed to be one of the outstanding contributions of the Botany department during the last five years.

10. Study tour/field trip

Study tours or field trips are conducted once or twice a year to various forest pockets of the state for the collection of local plant specimens, and to study the floristic composition of the forest pocket. The students are instructed to present these collected plants in the form of herbaria and to submit the same along with the field report at the time of practical examination for assessment.