Higher Education as an open space of knowledge production, circulation, practice and critique should adhere to varied methods, esp. co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, to implement the core values and philosophy of education. This practice, titled Catch Them Young, followed by the institution helps the students to give practical expression to the theoretical knowledge gained from the classrooms. The program focuses on the design and conduct of co-curricular and extra- curricular activities for the students with special focus on identifying and nourishing their special talents. This is a rather long process which begins along with the intake of students in the beginning of the academic year. The admission committee records the expertise and talents of the students and their individual interests. These details are later handed over to faculty in charge of the arts and related activities of the college. The mechanism functions in such a way so that the hidden talents of the student are brought out by collective activities and individual practice sessions in connection with the conduct of class wise as well as college wise talent hunt programmes. The primary focus of this best practice followed by the college is to give greater importance to the co-curricular activities, which are mostly skill based and which would open up better possibilities of self-improvement and employment for the students. The packed academic calendar the institution is expected to follow seldom provides time and space to innovate such programs. The contemporary classrooms, mostly limited to the imparting of the prescribed syllabus, often miss out the possibilities of developing the divergent natural capabilities and skill developments of the student community. It's from within such a challenging milieu the institute deliberately create such alternate spaces of learning through tactful use of time and possibilities. Co-curricular activities provide ample chances for the students not only to realize their inborn talents, skills and attitudes but also equip them socially, skilfully and politically to engage with the contemporary world. Literary, theoretical, artistic and pedagogical activities help them to put in practice their theoretical academics. It also makes them aware of the contemporary world practices of knowledge production and helps students to move beyond the outlines of prescribed syllabus to read and critique the world around, thus equipping them to be a part of the civil society. The uniqueness of the practice in the context of higher education lies in its deliberate efforts to consciously carry over the essential requirement of social engineering, skill development, critical pedagogy and other hidden curriculum together with the prearranged norms of theoretical knowledge production. The
One of the Best Practices of the college is designed in tune with the Human Library Project, an international organization and movement that first started in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2000. It aims to address people's prejudices by helping them to talk to those they would not normally meet. The organisation uses a library analogy of lending people rather than books. People from various socio, cultural, geographic areas with different kinds of lived reality are considered analogous with books thus urging the students to read through them and their lived experiences. The prejudices they overcame, the self-assertions they imbibed and the mark they have made upon the society and on millions make them a live study material to follow. Their bodies, emotions and intellect represent the varied sites on which they "experienced prejudice, social exclusion or stigma," and participants can ask them questions so as to "learn about the other person and also challenge their own prejudices." It is essential to teach for social/gender justice and connect critical pedagogy to everyday praxis. The Human Library Project conducted by the college invite personalities from various fields to have an interaction with the students. The platform intends to bring out the pluralities of life experiences and how each one of them have struggled, worked hard and achieved their specific goals in life. The college, keeping in view the philosophy of the programme, conducted wider and original talks of scholars and masters from various fields thus enabling the students to be more sensitive and open minded towards life. It should also nourish them to build a vibrant and supportive community by markedly expanding opportunities to connect and explore ideas for the benefit of the nation and its people. This interactive platform provided excellent opportunities that are responsive to the needs of the community and help students meet economic, social, creative and environmental challenges to become active participants and responsible citizens of the country. These kind of interaction helps the students to have a closer awareness of the social and cultural variants and how certain prejudices side-line specific categories of people. The interaction brings awareness about various kinds of social/gender/economic exclusions prevalent in our everyday society This will ensure the opening up of frontiers of higher order thinking to imbibe social sensibility and social responsibility. This platform fosters cooperation between thoughts and actions by learning through the exchange of ideas, expertise and best practices.