Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem‑7

Best Practices

Sustaining a 168-Year Legacy Through Green Stewardship and Accessible Excellence

Two practices, carried since the institution’s founding in 1857: a campus kept deliberately green at the centre of a busy city, and an education kept deliberately within reach of families for whom a degree is a first in generations.

168 yrs
Academic excellence
5,446
UG & PG students
257
Teaching faculty
80,457
Library volumes

Best Practice I

🌳 Green Campus

A smoke-free, plastic-free campus at the centre of the city, kept green on purpose — down to cataloguing every species on the grounds.

🎯

Objectives

  • Build and keep a pollution-free, green campus.
  • Preserve and maintain the institution’s ancient trees.
  • Teach both vernacular and scientific names of campus plants.
🏙️

The Context

Sitting in the centre of the city, the campus absorbs heavy air and noise pollution year-round. The practice exists to raise oxygen levels, cut noise, and hold on to a pleasant environment.
🍃

The Practice

  • Plantation drives every year, all students and departments.
  • Species identification audited by Botany.
  • Miyawaki forest — 3,000 saplings, 10 species.
✅

Evidence of Success

  • A maintained record of every plant species on campus.
  • A maturing Miyawaki forest and medicinal garden.
  • Measurable biodiversity conservation.
⚠️

Challenges & Resources

Upkeep is the main obstacle — financial and infrastructural support remain the biggest hurdles, alongside the need for ongoing awareness programmes.
🌿

At a Glance

  • 100+ ornamental & medicinal species
  • Smoke & plastic-free campus
  • Annual, institution-wide plantation programme

Best Practice II

🎓 Quality Education at an Affordable Cost

One of Tamil Nadu’s oldest institutions serves as the educational hub for the villages around Salem — most students are first graduates, many their family’s main breadwinner.

🎯

Objectives

  • Offer low-cost education to economically weaker sections.
  • Support families’ breadwinners as they pursue a degree.
  • Push younger minds to think beyond their circumstances.
🏛️

The Context

Students from weaker sections are admitted under reservation policy, with a tuition-fee exemption removing the financial burden. Many are first graduates who go on to excel academically and in sport.
💳

The Practice

  • No fee hike for roughly 25 years.
  • Community-based scholarships.
  • Exam-fee exemption for visually challenged students.
✅

Evidence of Success

15.2 acres, 10 blocks, 123 classrooms, 21 labs. 5,446 UG & PG students taught by 257 faculty — 161 with doctorates.
📚

Cost & Resources

An 80,457-volume library, including a rare century-old collection. Full cost of a degree: about ₹6,915 for Arts, ₹9,345 for Science — UG through Ph.D.
⚠️

Challenges & Resources

Keeping pace with technological change means acquiring more resources than the institution currently holds.