The College is aware of the unique opportunities and challenges that young women face in the 21st century. While access to higher education among women has seen an upward trend, the instrumental and functionalist thrust of formal education still has large gaps in the knowledge-building exercise. Higher Education often gets reduced to degrees, grades, and marks, due to the excessive focus on producing employable workers. Keeping this in mind, the College considers dissemination of a value-based education as an integral part of higher education. Value-based education in the context of Indian women in the 21st century needs a multidimensional approach. It should empower the Self, the Family, the Community, the Nation, and the World. It should empower the woman, so that she is able to take charge of her own life and circumstances and hence we see education largely as a capacity building exercise. Since we are a college named after the legendary woman leader Mata Sundri Ji, our institution considers dissemination of these values among students, as an integral part of higher education.
The College was founded on July 17, 1967, within the premises of the Mata Sundri Gurdwara to ensure that women, particularly those who belong to the marginalized communities, can access higher education. This rather unique beginning of a modern educational institution based on the tenets of liberal education has been the cornerstone of our academic culture: the interweaving of spiritual values and modern education. Our motto, ‘Truth is the highest of all virtues but true living is higher still’ remains the guiding principle of all our academic and extracurricular endeavours. Keeping in mind the limited accessibility that women sometimes have to Higher Education, the college also runs the Non Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB) which is a focused endeavour to support the cause of women’s education making it more accessible to all segments of society. We offer a range of programs and courses to women students at a nominal fee. Classes are held on Sundays and during academic breaks. This time table facilitates students’ ability to pursue other courses as well as hold jobs. To help the students gain greater exposure and hone their personalities and skills the NCWEB organizes a spectrum of activities.
In order to inculcate democratic values amongst students, every year the college holds elections for the post of Student Council Office Bearers. Students are encouraged to contest these elections, campaign and vote. This encourages leadership skills as well values pertaining to the processes of politics and empowerment. In order to empower the students they are included in formal bodies like Student Council, ICC, Committees and Cells of the College.Hence they step out into the world and make informed and independent choices.
The motto of N.S.S. “Not me but you” upholds the need for selfless service. The philosophy of N.S.S. is founded on the belief that the welfare of individuals ultimately depends on the welfare of the society. NSS students are involved in Teach India Campaign, Swacchh Bharat Abhiyaan, Fit India Movement, slum visits, and various other programmes which foster civic duty and social responsibility. Teachers and students from the Department of Elementary Education have worked with two schools in the neighboring area, Kamlesh Balika Vidyalaya and S. Harkishan Singh School as an outreach programme.
Value for one’s tradition and a sense of history are very important to create good citizens. Several programmes are organised to foster these ideals. For instance, teaching ancient martial forms like the gatka, use and promotion of various vernacular languages, organising cultural events linking students with various folk art forms are all attempts to promote and preserve India’s great cultural heritage.
The Divinity Society of the College is integral to dissemination of spiritual values. In order to ensure the inculcation of spiritual values, periodic lectures and other activities are organized by the Divinity Society and all students are encouraged to participate in it. In order to promote and enhance the pervasiveness of value based education a course on Sri Guru Granth Sahib: An Introduction was organized by the Divinity Society of the College.
The Bani Kirtan and Declamation competition, held by the institution is a unique endeavour of the College to generate awareness about spiritual teachings of the apostles of the faith among nursery, primary, secondary, and college students. Students are trained to participate in community events by participating in Nagar Kirtans. In addition, the College organizes annual Divinity trips to important places of worship, to highlight the historical contribution made by various figures to promote the creation of an egalitarian society.