The Higher Education Review

The Secretary and Correspondent of the Besant Theosophical College, Dr. N. Vijaya Bhaskar Choudary is an educationist and a visionary with pragmatic ideology. He believes that educating the young generations is a holy task, and it should be carried out in all earnestness, with a sense of dedication and determination.

It is depressing to see education touring out to be a commodity in our country. Many higher educational institutions do not think twice before imposing high fees on the students in turn of an abysmal quality education. Besant Theosophical College, offering premium quality and affordable education to the student community since the year 1915, has always been a different entity in this sector. The institution has brought many changes in the education system, as it stands firm on the motto of "Education as Service". Considered as one of the oldest institutions in the country and established by the visionary and the world-renowned theosophist Dr. Annie Besant, the college has been constructively contributing in uplifting the education quotient of the backward region of Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh. The college holds the pride of generating a number of first generation girl students with a strong focus on promoting women education.

Carrying forward Dr. Besant's noble idea of making education available to the underprivileged sections of this remote rural area, today Besant Theosophical College is growing by leaps and bounds under the able Correspondent ship of Dr. N. Vijaya Bhaskar Choudary, who also happened to be an esteemed alumnus of this institute.

"Being a former student of this college, I do understand the reputation that it holds and the expectations that are attached to it. I, along with my management team,

thus, strive hard to maintain good academic standards on par with the industry demands and develop a generation of a workforce who are imbibed with adequate moral and ethical values," shares Dr. Choudary. The college is not only recognized for its quality of education, but also is soundly popular for having nurtured the life of many students, who later evolved as members of Supreme Court and High Courts, Civil Servants, Ministers, Ambassadors and so on.

"Besant Theosophical College is not only recognized for its quality of education, but also is soundly popular for having nurtured the life of many students, who later evolved as members of Supreme Court and High Courts, Civil Servants, Ministers, Ambassadors and so on"

"We regularly invite the alumni on important occasions where they share their experiences and nostalgic memories of the college with the ongoing students," pinpoints Dr. Choudary. The college presently runs an array of Intermediate Courses and Bachelor courses such as B.Sc, B.A and B.Com with varied specializations. Dr. Choudary adds, "Even though our college is a Government funded aided institution, we also offer self-financing PG courses in specializations like Computer Science, Mathematics, English, Physics and many more, at an affordable fee." As the college is affiliated to Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, the common core syllabus is been designed and prescribed by the University. But alongside, taking the onus to match with the industry expectation, the management of the college creates their own exclusive curriculum for the multiple disciplines that are hosted by the college.

Become a Part of a Distinguished Institute

It was yet another notable moment for the college when it got the opportunity to host Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore for a week in the past and become the venue for the historic work: i.e., the translation of the present National Anthem "JANAGANAMANA" from Bengali to English. "Such events have put Besant Theosophical College on the global educational map. The graduate of this college hence are ensured to stand out in the crowd among other candidates in the job market and gain a remarkable status in professional life," Choudary. Whether it is academics

or co-curricular activities, the students of Besant Theosophical College from time to time have bagged several University Gold Medals and awards. It proves the potential of the talented team of faculty members who always emphasize on the holistic development of the future leaders.

Situated in a sprawling 48 acres of land and encompassing the finest facilities including sophisticated laboratories, Wi-Fi, E-class rooms, Skill Development Centre to train up students, well-stocked library and so on, the campus of the college is guaranteed to render a serene and favorable atmosphere to study. "Our faculty members act more as the counselors for the well being of our student community. This lets the students share their personal as well as academic issues freely with their teachers," claims Dr. Choudary. Experts from IIM, Kozhikode, Kerala and other reputed institutions also visit the college frequently to expose the students to the recent trends and techniques in the related fields. On the other hand, the students get to earn ample hands-on training, owing to the institute’s robust association with the organization like Balaji Polymers, Paints and Solvents, Divies Pharmaceuticals, Rathna Biotech Labs, to name a few.

Dr. Choudary opines, "To stay ahead of time, the campus is endowed with a research and development wing (R&D), which is responsible for promoting investigations and researches among the faculty members and the students." Further, for intensifying the research activities in the campus, the college intends to establish SIRO (Science and Industrial Research Organization) under the Aegis of DISR (Department of Industrial and Scientific Research), Govt. of India, New Delhi, for which necessary proposals have already been submitted.
The students are motivated to even participate in National Seminars and workshops in collaborations with different IITs apart from providing proper guidance and counseling regarding their respective professions through the Career Guidance and Placement Cell of the college. "For outgoing students, our Skill Development Centre in association with APSSDC conducts Job Training Program. We boast on placing around 108 students during the academic year 2017-18 and in future as well, we envision keeping on adding more feather in the success hat of the college," concludes Dr. Choudary.