Government Arts College, Salem

Government Arts College, Salem, is an autonomous college in Salem, Tamil Nadu, India.[1]

Government Arts College, Salem-7
Government Arts College Gate, Salem
Motto in English
Knowledge, Power, Sweetness
TypePublic
Established1857
PrincipalN. Shenbagalakshmi
Academic staff
234
Students5,580
Location, ,
11°39′49″N 78°09′30″E / 11.663554°N 78.158320°E / 11.663554; 78.158320
CampusUrban
LanguageTamil, English
AffiliationsPeriyar University
Websitehttp://gacsalem7.co.in/

History

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Anglo-Vernacular School (1857-79)

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The college was originally established as an Anglo-Vernacular School in 1857 by Alexander John Arbuthnot and converted into District School (Zillah High School) with 195 students. The school functioned in a rented building till 1863, then it moved to its own building, constructed in collaboration with public subscription and Government grant. In 1864 the school sent its first batch of students to the Matriculation Examination conducted by the University of Madras.[2]

Affiliate College (1879-85)

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In March 1879, the school was upgraded to a second grade college affiliated to the University of Madras.[3] Seven students from the college attended First Arts Examination held in 1880-81.

Salem Municipal College (1885-1960)

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In October 1885, the college was undertaken by Salem Municipal Council and was named as Salem Municipal College.

In 1928, the college was shifted to the present location after purchasing 11 acres of land near Maravaneri.

On 29 June 1931, P. T. Rajan, then Minister for Development, Public Works and Registration in the B. Munuswamy Naidu ministry of the erstwhile Madras Presidency, laid the foundation stone for the clock tower block (near the north end of the campus). The block was built at the cost of ₹.1,50,000, and was opened on 24 November 1932 by Radhabai Subbarayan, the Zamindarini of Kumaramangalam.

In 1944, the college was upgraded to a first grade college.

During his tenure as Salem Municipal Chairman (1941–47), P. Rathinaswami Pillai constructed a second building in the campus with subscriptions and donations received from the public and other institutions.. Consequently, the student strength increased from 408 to 1008.

Students of the 1950-51 batch established a bust in memory of A.Ramasamy, the sixth principal of the college (during 1923-50). It was unveiled on 16 September 1951 by S.G. Manavala Ramanujam, then Vice Chancellor of Annamalai University.

Government Arts College (1960-present)

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The Government of Madras (now Tamil Nadu) took over the college from 1 April 1960 onwards.

In 1976, a two-storey building was built in the campus at the cost of ₹.9,11,000 for the departments of Geography Physics and Zoology.

From 1983, non-semester system was followed.

From 1998-99, the college became a co-educational institution.

The present semester pattern was introduced from 1999-2000.

In 2000, the college received a three-star rating from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

In 2006, the NAAC re-evaluated the college and rated it 'B ++'.

The college gained autonomous status in 2007. Since then, the old method of examination was replaced by an alternative system with internal marks in semester system.

In accordance with the order of the State government, shift system was introduced in the year 2007-08 and the second shift classes started functioning in departments like Maths, Computer Science, Tamil, English, Commerce, History and Co-Operation.

In 2018, the NAAC re-accredited the college with 'B' status.

In 2019, the University Grants Commission (UGC) extended the college's autonomous status till 2023-24.

List of Principals

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  • d Died in Office
No. Name[4] Term of office[4]
From To
1 Boert Unknown 1904
2 Spencer 1904 1914
3 Seshathiri 1914 1918
4 S.K. Yagna Narayanan 1918 1922
5 S.K. Narayanan 1922 1927
6 A. Ramasamy 1927 19 August 1950[d] [5]
7 ? 20 August 1950 1955
8 V.Achuthan Nair 1955 1964
9 K.S. Venkateswaran 1964 1965
10 Mir Saheer Hussain 1966 1967
11 Ramanan Unni 1967 1969
12 K. Meenakshi Sundaram 1969 1971
13 V. Kannaiyah 1972 1973
14 P.T. Muniappa 1973 1977
15 M.K. Thangavelu 1977 1978
16 R. Ayyasamy 1978 16 July 1979
17 K. Perumal 16 July 1979 31 May 1980
18 R. Narasingam 31 May 1980 12 October 1981
19 A. Nagarajan 12 October 1981 28 January 1982
20 ? 28 January 1982 5 November 1982
21 N. Kailasam 5 November 1982 30 April 1984
22 ? 30 April 1984 31 May 1984
23 M.S. Srinivasan 1 June 1984 16 June 1984
24 ? 16 June 1984 9 July 1984
25 S.M. Kamal Basha 9 July 1984 31 May 1987
26 ? 1 June 1987 10 June 1987
27 G.S. Narasiman 11 June 1987 8 June 1988
28 ? 8 June 1988 13 June 1988
29 K. Jayaraman 14 June 1988 20 June 1989
30 M. Ganapathy 21 June 1989 10 November 1992
31 ? 11 November 1992 15 December 1992
32 T.C. Shanmugasundaram 16 December 1992 5 July 1993
33 ? 6 July 1993 15 July 1993
34 Thanga Rayer 16 July 1993 30 November 1994
35 ? 1 December 1994 30 December 1994
36 V. Santhanam 31 December 1994 2 August 1995
37 A. Kumararaj 3 August 1995 31 May 1996
38 ? 1 June 1996 4 July 1996
39 S. Natarajan 5 July 1996 31 May 1997
40 N.M. Viswanathan 31 May 1997 31 May 1998
41 ? 1 June 1998 7 June 1998
42 P. Thangavel 8 June 1998 8 July 1999
43 P. Thanigasalam 9 July 1999 31 August 2000
44 P. Thiyagarajan 1 September 2000 3 February 2001
45 P. Syamalabai 4 February 2001 20 June 2001
46 M. Balakrishnan 21 June 2001 26 January 2003
47 ? 27 January 2003 1 May 2003
48 D. Pathmini 2 May 2003 3 May 2003
49 ? 4 May 2003 27 July 2003
50 L. Lakshmanan 28 July 2003 3 September 2004
51 ? 4 September 2004 14 December 2004
52 A. Jayalakshmi 15 December 2004 5 July 2005
53 C. Murugesan 6 July 2005 31 May 2006
54 ? 1 June 2006 13 June 2006
55 M.N. Chandrasekaran 14 June 2006 31 May 2007
56 ? 1 June 1007 6 June 200i7
57 R. Periyasamy 7 June 2007 31 May 2008
58 ? 1 June 2008 12 June 2008
59 K. Mohammed Rashak 13 June 2008 31 May 2009
60 ? 1 June 2009 14 June 2009
61 S. Seetharaman 15 June 2009 31 May 2011
62 P. Thirumoorthy 1 June 2011 3 June 2011
63 ? 4 June 2011 6 June 2011
64 P. Ganesan 7 June 2011 17 June 2011
65 ? 18 June 2011 22 June 2011
66 S.V. Govindaraju 23 June 2011 25 July 2011
67 R. Rangarajan 26 July 2011 1 August 2011
(66) S.V. Govindaraju 2 August 2011 23 December 2011
68 ? 24 December 2011 25 December 2011
(67) R. Rangarajan 26 December 2011 30 December 2011
69 ? 30 December 2011 31 December 2011
(66) S.V. Govindaraju 1 January 2012 17 February 2012
70 ? 18 February 2012 19 February 2012
71 K.R. Ravindran 20 February 2012 29 February 2012
72 ? 1 March 2012 22 August 2012
73 A.R. Rasamani 23 August 2012 31 May 2014
74 S.C. Suriyanarayanan 1 June 2014 1 July 2014
75 R. Dhanalakshmi 2 July 2014 31 May 2016
76 K. Murugeswari 1 June 2016 12 October 2016
77 T. Subramani 13 October 2016 27 October 2016
78 P. Esther Joice 28 October 2016 1 August 2017
79 G. Venkatesan 2 August 2017 28 August 2017
80 M. Sakunthala 28 August 2017 30 June 2018
81 ? 1 July 2018 3 July 2018
82 S. Kalaichelvan 4 July 2018 8 June 2023
83 N. Shenbagalakshmi 9 June 2023 Incumbent

Academic programmes

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The college offers undergraduates and postgraduate programmes in arts and science streams. It has been accredited by NAAC and operates autonomously under the Periyar University.[6]

Departments

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Subject Undergraduate Postgraduate Research
Arts and Commerce
Tamil  Y  Y  Y
English  Y  Y  Y
History  Y  Y  Y
Political Science  Y (shift 1)  Y
Human Rights  Y
Public Administration  Y (shift 1)
Economics  Y (shift 1)  Y  Y
Business Administration  Y
Commerce  Y  Y  Y
Commerce (Co-Operation)  Y  Y
Science
Physics  Y (shift 1)  Y  Y
Chemistry  Y  Y  Y
Mathematics  Y  Y  Y
Statistics  Y (shift 1)  Y  Y
Geology  Y (shift 1)  Y  Y
Geography  Y (shift 1)  Y
Botany  Y (shift 1)  Y
Zoology  Y (shift 1)  Y  Y
Computer Science  Y  Y  Y
Chartered Accountant  Y  Y

Notable faculty

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Notable alumni

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The college is one of the settings in the Tamil film Maamannan (2023).[8]

References

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  1. ^ "GOVERNMENT ARTS COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), SALEM - 7 | Outlook Education".
  2. ^ "College History – Government Arts College Salem-7". Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Government Arts College Salem-7 – Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem".
  4. ^ a b "List of Principals – Government Arts College Salem-7". Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  5. ^ "-:: Annavin Padaippugal ::-". www.annavinpadaippugal.info. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Affiliated College of Periyar University". Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Tamil Movie Actor Saravanan | Nettv4u". 25 April 2016. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  8. ^ MAAMANNAN - Kodi Parakura Kaalam Lyric | A.R Rahman | Udhayanidhi Stalin | Vadivelu | Mari Selvaraj, retrieved 14 June 2023
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