K.R.B. Girls’ College: Small yet beautiful

Chandrama Goswami 

(Principal, K.R.B. Girls’ College. She can be reached at chandrama06@gmail.com.)

KRB Girls’ College, located in the Fatasil area, is the second women’s college in Guwahati, named after Kamakhya Ram Barooah, who was a renowned advocate, social worker, philanthropist, and pioneer in the development of women’s education and women’s welfare. In spite of being an advocate, he worked for the advancement of women’s education. He established the Haripriya Vidyapith and Kaliram Barooah Suwali High Schools for the advancement of girl education.

The history of K.R.B. Girls’ College goes back to 1966, when the idea of setting up a girls college for women’s education in the underdeveloped western part of Guwahati City was conceived. Initially, a 12-bigha plot of land was donated in Durgasarovar by the family of Kamakhya Ram Barooah, but the college could not be established there due to opposition from the local people. However, this did not hamper the enthusiasm of the people, and the Honourable Debendranath Sarma, founder GB President of the college, along with a few others, namely Sjt Prabir Ram Barooah, Sjt Kanak Lal Das, Sjt Mohan Chandra Kalita (Founder Principal), Sjt Suren Ram Phulan, Sjt Manik Chandra Deka, Sjt Narayan Chandra Bhattacharyya, and Sjt Chandradhar Deka, continued their efforts to find a plot of land for the college. Sjt. Debendranath Sharma approached the authorities of Gopala Nanda Ashram, Shantipur, about starting the college on the ashram land. At that time, the authorities of the ashram had not paid the tax on the ashram land for several years, and the authorities took the decision to donate land for the college. Despite strong objections from a section of local dwellers, the then Chief Minister of Assam, Mahendra Mohan Choudhury, agreed to officially lay the foundation stone of the college building on the land of Gopala Nanda Ashram. But here also there was opposition by some ppeople,and the construction of the college building was suspended as the donor family members insisted that the college would not be set up in any area even if there was a single opposition.

But as the then Chief Minister Mahendra Mohan Choudhury realised the importance of a girls college in this locality, he directed the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup district, Mr. Anil Kumar Choudhury, to provide land at a suitable place for the college. According to that order, 8 bighas of land were allotted in the current location as per the wishes of the local people of Fatasil.

Under the supervision of the founder principal, Mohan Chandra Kalita, the classes of the college were temporarily conducted at New Fatashil Town High School and Kaliram Baruah Girls High School, Bharalumukh. After his death on February 8, 1970, Zahid Choudhury took over the responsibility, and with his untiring efforts, the foundation stone of the college building was formally laid on April 14, 1971, by Chief Minister Mahendra Mohan Choudhury. It was during the time when Prabir Ram Barooah (son of Kamakhya Ram Barooah) was the GB president of the college that the first building came up in the present location. This was possible because of his donation of about Rs. 1 lakh for the construction of the college building. At that time, the area was a garbage dump. With the continuous efforts of many academicians and administrators, the college has achieved its present status.

During 1982–83, as Assam was going through political turmoil, Principal Zahid Choudhury, along with some teachers of the college and Guruprasad Medhi, who was a member of the Governing Body, met the then Chief Minister of Assam, Hiteswar Saikia, and invited him to visit the college. The Hon’ble Chief Minister gave special importance to the college as a women’s educational institution, even though the number of girls was lower, and promised in the meeting that it would be brought under the deficit scheme. This meeting was a great success for the college and marked its turning point. Starting with only 10–12 students, the college received deficit grants in aid from the Government of Assam in February 1985. The enrolment of girls was lower due to various reasons, such as congested areas, bad roads, an expensive transport system, an unsafe locality, etc. But everyone associated with the college took it up as a challenge. To increase the number of students, the teachers went from house to house, emphasising the need to educate girls.

At present, the college offers a BA programme in 10 subjects. At the high school level, we have arts and commerce. The BBA programme, approved by AICTE, has also been started from this session.

Our dedicated team of teachers is engaged not only in providing quality education but also in counselling and mentoring students. The unique spirit of K.R.B. Girls’ College is the symbiotic relationship between the faculty members and the students.

Students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged to acquire leadership roles (helped by NCC and NSS) in addition to exposure to and interaction with leading experts, academicians, and practitioners.

The education system in India is undergoing tremendous change. The emergence of blended learning, online classes, and experiential learning has changed how students interact with educational content. The New Education Policy 2020 aims to bring transformative changes by providing high-quality education to students. Implementation of the NEP brings with it many challenges for small, single-stream institutions like us.

In our own way, as per the requirements of NEP, we are trying to incorporate skill-based education into our college. Certificate courses in computer application are offered to interested students. In addition, computer courses and courses to train as yoga trainers are being conducted under the PMKVY programme of the Government of India. Skill trainings on jewellery making, mushroom cultivation, baking, bihu, weaving, and abhinay (acting) are conducted on a regular basis to groom our students as future entrepreneurs. A life skills programme under the Jeevan Siksha Scheme has been taken up to motivate students to inculcate life coping skills in addition to regular courses. Here, students are encouraged to start gardening in a limited space. Students are taught the technique of growing plants, both flowering and non-flowering, in pots. They are also trained in making the potting mixture for the proper growth of plants. In fact, the success of this scheme was seen in the International Agri-Horticultural Show organised by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Assam, on December 16th, 17th, and 18th, 2023, where K.R.B. Girls’ College was the single college participating, showcasing the products of students. It is also expected that these programmes will be able to produce confident, mature, and independent individuals by the time they leave K.R.B. Girls’ College. The psychological aspect of our students is taken care of through regular counselling by the Department of Psychiatry, District Hospital, Sonapur, Kamrup.

The one disturbing aspect of the college is low enrollment. Located in one of the interior places of Guwahati, this college caters to the needs of girl students coming from poor families who are mostly daily wage earners. The students here are mostly first-generation learners. As our students come from poor families, there are some unique problems faced by our college. Many students are given off in marriage before they even finish their graduation. Many times, it is difficult to make the parents understand the utility of making their daughters economically independent. Sometimes, girls have to stop their studies halfway to support their families financially.

The government is putting emphasis on educating the girl child and on women’s empowerment and has taken many positive steps towards achieving this through schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and the Mukhya Mantri Nijut Moina (MMNM) Scheme, to name a few. The mandate of the college is and always has been to empower the women of the downtrodden section of society through education. The college started with three students in 1966. In fact, considering the enrolment at that time, we can say enrolment has increased manifold. However, the college is far off the 500 students required at the degree level as per the government mandate.

Such a mandate is unfortunate for a college like ours, which is located in one of the backward areas of Guwahati. One option for increasing enrollment may be to convert the girls’ college into a coeducational institute. But this might not solve the problem of low enrollment. We cater to the needs of that section of society where girls are first-generation learners. Many of them will have to drop out of college if the college cannot maintain its present status as a girls’ college. At present, there are only two girls colleges in Kamrup Metro, the other being Handique Girls’ College. Most of the students in our locality attend K.R.B. Girls’ College. However, with the continuous efforts and dedication of our faculty, they are able to complete their graduation from Gauhati University, securing first class. Our achievement is when students from the third and second divisions of their high school complete graduation, securing first place.

Enrollment has always been an issue here at K.R.B. Girls’ College. This struggle to maintain the identity of the college is also not new. Whether it is a locational disadvantage or a transportation difficulty, it is not known. Most people, even from Guwahati, will have to use Google Maps to find the location of the college. And if one is trying to visit the college using Google Map, they will keep doubting Google Map regarding its accuracy. We have taken several steps to increase enrollment. This includes offering hostel facilities for girls and introducing the BBA programme in this session. We also plan to start B.Com. and PG courses in certain subjects in the next session. Just as wishers and teachers of the college went door to door to increase enrolment way back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, this year too faculty members and office staff have gone from house to house encouraging parents to send their daughters to K.R.B. Girls’ College.

And we are hopeful. With our continuous efforts and dedication, we will continue to take our girls forward, giving them the best education and making them responsible, independent citizens. Achieving B++ in the recently declared NAAC accreditation has definitely given a boost to our spirits, and I am sure we are going in the right direction.