Institutional Distinctiveness:
Dnyan Vikas Sanstha was established in the year 1987 to promote the noble cause of education for the downtrodden sections of the society in the fast growing and developing city of Navi Mumbai and its surroundings. The trustees of the Sanstha belong to peasants’ family. The Trust started its academic services by establishing a School in 1987, predominantly in Marathi medium, which subsequently led to the establishment of English medium school. In 1998, the Trust established a Junior College in Commerce Stream. To cater to the higher education needs of the locals, the Trust took a bold step of establishing a Degree College in 2007, which was later extended to the postgraduate level in the year 2013. The Trust aims to make higher education available to the needy and underprivileged sections of the society at an affordable cost. This is in perfect tune with the vision and mission of the institution. The journey continued with the establishment of D.Ed. College in the year 2011.
The College opened its doors in the year 2007 for imparting knowledge to the first-generation learners from the rural areas of Navi Mumbai with an intention to bring about a radical change in the society. The College made a humble beginning in the year 2007 with 28 students; the number today has increased to more than 550 students on roll. The College has 9 full-time teachers on roll, which is a rare phenomenon in many self-financed colleges in the surrounding.
The College commenced with a humble beginning and has progressed by leaps and by bounds acquiring all pre-requisite affiliations from the University of Mumbai. Today the College has positioned itself as a reputed educational entity in the fields of academics, sports and cultural events by providing access to the quality education for all, with a special emphasis on underprivileged students from the geographically backward areas of Navi Mumbai.
In order to cater to the higher educational requirements of the working classes and adults, the College started a Centre in Distant Education offering B.Com. and B.A. Programmes of Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) in the year 2005.
The College offers a number of Add-on Courses and Certificate Courses sponsored by government agencies to bring about professional development of students and provide them job opportunities.
A number of intra-college cultural and sports activities are organised to bring about all round development of its students. Students are also encouraged to participate in inter-collegiate sports and cultural events.
The College campus is spread over 2.84 acres of land area. The college campus is full with greenery and is fully endowed with natural beauty. This distinct characteristic enables the preservation of ancient ‘Gurukul’ tradition, which is our well-thought-out strength for the creation of the responsible citizens. The College aims to promote Girls’ Education. There College has almost 1:1 Female to Male ratio, which is much higher than in many other colleges affiliated to the University. A large number of female staff in teaching as well as non-teaching cadre is a manifestation of women empowerment.
The activities of Counselling and Placement Cell, a healthy Mentor-Mentee Ratio, Student Exchange Programmes, various Certificate Programs, Cultural Events and Sports Day Celebration, all combine to make the institution an ideal place to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Commerce.
The vibrant IQAC, Alumni Association, Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) and exemplary work done by the various statutory and non-statutory committees bring the College to the forefront in various fields and materialise the concept of holistic development of the individuals.
The performance of students in the final examination has been better than the university average, although majority of our students are first generation learners from socially and economically weaker sections. The secret of success is due to regularity of lectures and remedial teaching, which is undertaken to cater to the needs of slow learners. Mentoring has also helped the students to get rid of academic and other stress-related problems. Yoga and meditation sessions have helped the students to have a healthy mind in a healthy body.
The College has emerged strongly in its pursuit for quality assurance to make this Institution a Centre for Excellence in line with its Vision. Our faculty members are committed to the mission of our college. This Institution is unique and occupies a place of honour to find our alumni well placed in their lives.
Our Institution promises to act as a catalyst to bring about a positive change in the minds of stakeholders for the upliftment of mankind and the safety of the environment.
The college organizes women empowerment programs for making them confident enough to struggle the battle of life. Various eminent woman personalities are being invited for guidance on several issues. Special health-related seminars and workshops have been organized by the Women Development Cell (WDC) of the College.
Thrust Areas
Some of the thrust areas of the College are:
- Giving priority to Girls Students and students from socially and economically weaker sections.
- Introducing new professional development programmes such as BMS, BAF and BBI.
- Providing government scholarships and scholarships from the institutions to the needy students
- Developing research culture among teachers and students by providing them with necessary research facilities
- Providing job opportunities to students through better integration with industry.
Conclusion
As one of the key goals of education is to foster personal growth within students, educational structures and culture must continually be renewed through innovation and creating a culture of inclusion at all levels. At DVS College, Education is not just about preparing for a career, but also about fostering self-determination, and lifelong learning in keeping with the vision of the institution, which is, to impart quality education for all students, especially for the underprivileged in a conscious manner. The institution will continue to strive in this direction with the co-ordinated efforts of all its stakeholders – students, teachers, alumni and society.
