HSNC University Mumbai
Bombay Teachers’ Training College
Re-accredited 'A' Grade By NAAC.
Our Vision: To Emerge as a Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education
The BTTC Week is a longstanding tradition and best practice in our college. It is the only college of education in the city which conducts such a series of intercollegiate and interschool events.
The practice was initiated in an era when there was not much of networking between colleges of education and with the schools. The BTTC Week attempts to conduct competitions such as Elocution, Music, Dance, Cookery, Rangoli, Pooja Thali Decoration, Flower Arrangement and Personality contests.
The college is always keen to express our gratitude to the practice teaching schools for the cooperation they extended to us throughout the academic year. Thus, one day of the BTTC week is dedicated entirely to the schools by conducting Poetry Recitation Competitions.
In 2006-07, the Panel Discussion was introduced as a regular feature of the BTTC Week Celebrations. The week now starts with a Panel Discussion. A theme/topic on contemporary issues is selected and the speakers related to the field are invited for discussion.
This panel discussion is an intellectual and interactive learning experience for the students, faculty members and all the other participants. Some of the discussion themes over the years have been
“Women Empowerment”
“Women Leaders: Changing Equations”
“Right to Information: An Aware Citizenry” &
“Learning Lessons through Popular Culture”
The BTTC Week is a longstanding tradition and best practice in our college. It is the only college of education in the city which conducts such a series of intercollegiate and interschool events. The practice was initiated in an era when there was not much of networking between colleges of education and with the schools. The BTTC Week attempts to conduct competitions such as Elocution, Music, Dance, Cookery, Rangoli, Pooja Thali Decoration, Flower Arrangement and Personality contests. The college was also keen on expressing our gratitude to the practice-teaching schools for the cooperation they extended to us throughout the academic year. Thus one day of the BTTC week is dedicated entirely to the schools by conducting Poetry Recitation Competitions.
A very unique feature of the college is the BTTC Week Celebrations. The week starts with a Panel Discussion. A theme / topic on a contemporary issue are selected by the faculty and the speakers related to the field are invited for discussion. This panel discussion is an intellectual and interactive learning experience for the students, faculty members and all the other participants.
The same day also witnesses an inter college Extempore Elocution Competition. We send invitations to around 20 to 30 colleges of education and participation is remarkable. The entire event is managed by the faculty and student-teachers together. This serves two purposes. One, student teachers get exposure; and two; they get hands on experience in event managing.
The second day is completely dedicated to the schools. We conduct poetry recitation competitions at two levels- primary and secondary. Invitation is sent to all the practice-teaching schools, the neighbourhood schools and also to those schools that visit us during campus recruitment. Students come in large numbers to participate in the competition. This again has two intentions. One, we reciprocate to our schools that are one of our stake holders, and two, our student teachers get hands on experiences in handling students and their competitions, along with managing the entire event.
In 2014-15, we have introduced two new competitions for school students, viz. Inter-School Poster Making Competition for Secondary Schools & Inter-School Drawing Competition for Primary Schools.
On the third day, we have inter-collegiate Personality Contest. The most Promising Teacher Award is given to the winner. The entire event is an enriching experience for the participants and the audience as they are also future teachers. In the second half of the same day, we have inter-college light vocal music competition. However, in 2012-13, we have replaced this event with a Duet Dance ‘Hum-Tum’ competition instead. This was very well received by the colleges.
The last day is fun filled and lifts the spirits of the students and teachers as we organize inter collegiate Dance competition for the D.El. Ed. Teachers need to be skilled in everything, and dance and singing are no exception. The importance of co-curricular activities for the teacher is stressed by conducting these events.
The ECEP students engage in intra-class Music & Movement Competition/Puppetry Competition wherein all students of the course participate in different groups in high spirits.
The foremost aim of this entire practice is to stand out amongst the crowd and also to keep our student teachers and teacher educators abreast with the current trends in the educational scenario.
A Nutritious Diet Competition is also held during the week separately for all the three courses. All the three courses of BTTC, namely, B.Ed,, D.T.Ed and ECEP are a part of this entire programme.
One of the problems we face is finding participants for the intercollegiate competitions from the colleges of education. The reason is that the schedules in colleges of education are very packed. This obstacle can be overcome if we time the events so that they do not clash with the practice teaching schedule of the other B.Ed. colleges. Another obstacle we face is that a few of the students consistently remain absent from college during the BTTC Week as they feel that no academic learning happens during this period. We attempt to overcome this obstacle through democratic means but that is not always possible. Hence sometimes we make attendance compulsory and request the help of the Student council to monitor the attendance.
The practice has resulted in a good networking with both the schools in our neighbourhood as well as the colleges of education.
The event gives an opportunity to our student teachers to try out their hand at event management. The week is a time for celebration of our achievements during the year. Medals and Rolling Shields and Trophies are given to the winners along with Certificates of Merit. Participation Certificates are also given to all in order to lift their level of confidence.
We also invite our alumni for the occasion and the event is a good excuse to connect with them. In fact Alumni who visit us come with fond memories of the BTTC Week Celebrations held when they were students and they share them with the present batch.
In 2006-07 the Panel Discussion was introduced as a regular feature of the BTTC Week Celebrations. The theme was “Women Empowerment”. The eminent women panelists were Ms. Usha Thorat, Deputy Governor, RBI; Ms. Valsa Nair, Collector, Mumbai; Ms. Poonam Dhillon, Film Personality; Ms. Raell Padamsee, Theatre Personality; Ms. Vandana Lulla, Principal, Poddar School; Ms. Abha Narain, a Life Coach from Malaysia. Ms Usha Thorat made references to financial literacy and empowerment among women. The direct outcome of this was an increased attention given to financial literacy in the college. One of the faculty members later conducted a seminar on “Basics of Investment” with the class.
The highlight of the 2007-08 BTTC Week Celebrations was the Panel Discussion on “Women Leaders: Changing Equations”. The keynote speaker was Principal Dr. (Mrs) Kirti Narain, Jai Hind College. The other panelists were – Mrs. Munira Chudasama, Ms. Tasneem Mehta and Ms. Devika Bhojwani. They shared their experiences by critically evaluating the status of women in contemporary society and suggested steps for women empowerment in the emerging Indian Society.
In 2008-09 the panel discussion was on the theme of “Right to Information: An Aware Citizenry”. The keynote speaker was Hon’ble Dr. Suresh V. Joshi, Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra. The other panelists were – Miss. Alpa Vora, UNICEF (Consultant) and Mr. Aman Rajodia, National Head of Sales and Investment Services, Standard Chartered Bank. We received positive feedback from all the attendees that the topic was very relevant as the RTI act was newly introduced at the time. Educationists were still unaware about the consequences and implications of RTI in education and the Panel Discussion threw light on the RTI Act.
In 2009-10 the panel discussion was on the theme of “Lesson from Popular Culture”. The keynote speaker was Mr. Shantikumar Gupta, Joint Director, Higher Education, Maharashtra State. The other panelists were – Mrs. Sudeshna Chatterjee , Principal- Jamnabai Narsee School, Mr. Muddasir Aziz, Bollywood film director, Janaab Nida Fazli Sahab, Poet & Writer, Mrs. Sucharita Apte and Mr. Anil Manekar, Director of Nehru Science Centre. The panelists discussed about the possible ways and the effects of introducing popular culture in the classroom.
In 2010-11 the panel discussion was on the theme of “Performing Arts: Exploring Perspectives in Education”. The keynote speaker was Drt. Kanak Rele, Director Nalanda Research Center. The chief guest of the programme was Mrs. Bakul Patel, Former Sheriff of Mumbai. Othe panelists were Ms. Manju Nachhani, Principal of KC College and Secretary of HSNC Board, Dr. Radha Kunwar, Associate Professor Amerent Indian Culture, St. Xavier’s College, Dr. Uma Rele, Principal Nalanda Nitriya Kala Maha Vidyalaya, Mrs. Sabira Merchant, Personality, Speech Expert, Mr. Viraf Patel, Model & Actor and Mrs. Nancy Mims, Head of Universal School. The experts in the field guided the audience about various perspectives that can be utilized in the field of education.
In 2011-12 the panel discussion was on the theme of “Enabling Ethics: Raising Standards”. The chief guest of the programme was Mr. Parikshit Sahni, Veteran Bollywood Actor. The other panelists were Dr. Harish Shetty, Counselor & Psychiatrist, Dr. R Gopal, Pro VC, Dr. D Y Patil University, Mr. Vinodini Lulla, Trustee, Treasurer & Founding Co-ordintar, CMCA and Dr. Supriya Rai, Associate Prof., Centre for Buddhist Studies, K. J. Somaiya College. The panel discussion threw light on the ethical concerns in different fields, and how they can be tackled to provide quality to the programmes.
In 2013-2014the panel discussion was on the theme of “Being a Game Changer”. Prof. Varsha Gaikwad, Hon’ble Minister of State for Women & Child Development was the chief guest for the programme. The other panelists were Dr. Vitthal Kamat, Hotelier & Educator, Ms. Aria Chaini, Director, Maharashtra Economic Dev. Council, Youth Wing and Ms. Manju Nichani, Principal, K C College. This discussion focused on the importance of entrepreneurship and becoming the change factor in the different fields.
The main requirement for the BTTC week is access to the auditorium and a good sound system, both of which we are fortunate to have. Apart from these we require judges for the events and expert speakers as resource persons for the Panel Discussion. Other requirements include stationery, printing equipment and gifts for our guests.
