STAR College Programme

Background:

Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is committed to the values of i) Pursuit of excellence ii) Academic and intellectual freedom iii) Creativity and innovation iv) Diversity v) Cooperation and Communication & vi) accountability.

The Star College Programme was initiated by DBT in 2008 to support colleges and universities offering undergraduate education to improve science teaching across the country. This Programme was launched for improving critical thinking and encouraging ‘hands on’ experimental science at undergraduate level in basic science subjects. On a larger perspective, the programme was initiated envisioning that it shall encourage more students to take up higher education in science. Through this programme the Department identifies colleges with potential for excellence and provides support for developing infrastructure for academics and laboratory activities. This support is in turn expected to invigorate teaching and provide unique exposure of students to experimental science. Starting with a meager 30 colleges in 2008, this pan India scheme has supported science departments in more than 300 colleges all over the country till date.
Overall, it has been observed that the support received by colleges have resulted in a considerable decrease of student dropout rates in science subjects. Keeping in mind that this is the only programme implemented by the Department to support science education at the undergraduate level, the Star College Programme acts as a gateway and provides exposure to students about other schemes of the Department (and the GOI) to support higher education (post graduate level), graduate research (PhD), post doctoral research, international exchange programmes, short term industry oriented training courses in science. The Programme also acts as a catalyst in igniting young minds (faculty and students) to engage in networking, exposure visits to research institutes and industries and apply for research grants in order to prepare them for future challenges after the successful completion of their undergraduate courses.

The All-India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE), 2020-21 was conducted with reference date as 31.12.2020, a total of 1,113 Universities, 43,796 Colleges and 11,296 Stand Alone Institutions were registered in AISHE 2020-21, Of them, 1,099 Universities, 41,600 colleges and 10,307 Stand Alone Institutions have filled and verified their responses. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana and Kerala are top 10 States in terms of number of colleges. Number of colleges per lakh eligible population (population in the age-group 18-23 years) in the country is 31. About 43% of the Universities and 61.4% Colleges are in Rural Areas. 10.5% Colleges (4,375) are exclusively for Female, while only 0.2% (72 Colleges) are exclusively for male. About 78.09% of the students are enrolled in undergraduate level courses and remaining 11.5% are enrolled in postgraduate level courses. Based on actual response at undergraduate level, enrollment is highest in Arts (33.5%), followed by Science (15.5%), Commerce (13.9%) and Engineering & Technology (11.9%). At postgraduate level, maximum students are enrolled in Social Science stream (20.56%) followed by science (14.83%) based on actual response. At the under graduate level, the highest out-turn is in Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) with 20.5 Lakh, followed by Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) with 11.3 Lakh, Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) with 10.2 Lakh and 8.3 Lakh in Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) & Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech.) combined.

The above Stats are result of All India Survey On Higher Education (2020-21); which shows the huge potential in the educational field in India, through the Star College Programme of Department of Biotechnology, we aim to increase the percentage of students opting for Science courses from all over India, further through the program the Department envisions to reach a large number of colleges, as of now the department has already supported more than 300 colleges. It is also planned to reach out to the colleges in the rural areas and to the states which have minimum participation till now like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand etc.

Further, the Programme is in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal-4 to Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

In a huge country like India, equitable percolation of the benefits of any pan India scheme is a challenge and the Star College Programme is no exception. As a result, applicant colleges have been categorized into ‘Rural’ (with a special focus on Aspirational districts since 2019-20), ‘Urban’ categories since 2018-19 and “NER” category since 2022-23 based on the geographic location of the college. This was done to ensure that access to better facilities on account of geographical location should not be a deterrent for securing this highly competitive grant. This has created a tremendous interest among colleges from rural areas too which has resulted in exponential increase in number of colleges applying from Tier II, Tier III cities and rural areas.

Map of India depicting total number of Colleges have been supported under the Star College Programme (317) and colleges accorded with Star Status (45) (depicted as *) in different states since inception of the programme.

The key objectives of the Programme is to promote networking & strengthen ties with neighboring institutions & other laboratories, to conduct specialized training programmes for faculty improvement for optimizing technical capabilities, to increase capabilities of core instrumentation resources by procuring new equipment and upgrading of existing facilities, to provide access and exposure to students to research laboratories and industries in the country, to help in devising standard curricula and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) / kits for practicals, to provide better library facility to students and teachers at undergraduate level. To conduct specialized training programmes for faculty improvement for optimizing technical capabilities. Creation and operational support for resource and training facilities for training of college faculty.

The funding shall be provided under following categories:

• Urban Colleges.
• Rural Colleges.
• Special calls: Based on need of the Programme or as suggested by Task Force (e.g. NER Colleges) or areas where there is limited penetration of the Programme.

Success stories

162 undergraduate colleges across the country were ultimately supported under Star College Programme during the last 5 years. Out of these, 45 colleges have been awarded Star College Status.

• Science Setu Programme:The programme is organised under the aegis of the Atmanirbhar Bharat, India@75 campaign. In this programme, the 15 Autonomous Institutes engaged 225 colleges and they organized 125 seminars out of which more than 7500 students benefitted under the programme
• Star College Mentorship Programme: Under this programme the colleges that have been conferred with the prestigious “Star Status” will adopt a higher role of mentoring the colleges that have currently initiated their journey under the “Strengthening Component” implementing the scheme's mandate, and also to make the colleges aware of other programs of the Department/Ministry.
• Under this programme, DBT organized ‘Foldscope Workshops’ in 3 different locations Delhi, Guwahati and Kaziranga which lead to mass popularization of this low cost device among undergraduate students. Additionally, several colleges disseminated and continue to disseminate the knowledge harnessed by training school students and further familiarizing this instrument.
• Student outreach activities are carried out regularly by the Colleges which promote interaction and networking skills among students and staff alike and also provide unique exposure to scientific research, industrial processes etc. thereby igniting young minds towards a career in basic sciences.
• Reduction in college dropout rates and increase in students pursuing higher education in basic science subjects.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Who can apply?

• The college must be Government or Government aided or Autonomous included under Section 2(f)/12(B) of UGC Act,
• College should run minimum 4-5 UG courses in basic sciences such as botany, zoology, applied life science, microbiology, physiology / biochemistry, biotechnology and 1-2 applied course/PG diploma courses.
• Adequate in-house faculty expertise in each science departments with at least 1 permanent faculty.
• Basic infrastructure and facilities in terms of laboratories and library, LCD / overhead projection facilities, Computers with internet access in consonance with UG level of India.

2. When is the call for DBT Star College Programme announced ?

The call for DBT-Star College Programme for both Urban and Rural categories is announced annually and is advertised on the DBT website.

3. What are ‘Urban’ and ‘Rural’ categories of colleges ?

DBT is focused on equitable percolation of benefits of the Star College Programme throughout the country and is committed to ensure that geographical location and access to means of communication and technology should not be a deterrent for securing this highly competitive grant. Therefore, since 2018-19 Colleges have been categorized into Urban and Rural categories based on the physical location of the college.

Colleges applying under Rural category should mandatorily attach a certificate (with the application) from competent authority (local administration and not Principal of the College) either in Hindi or English stating that the college is located in a Rural area, failing which applications shall not be considered further.

4. Can colleges which have been applied / supported earlier under DBT-Star College Programme reapply for fresh support?

• Colleges that have been not recommended for support can re- apply to DBT for financial support with appropriate modifications and the revisions & modifications after a gap of one year.
• If a college has been rejected by the Task Force in two consecutive rounds of evaluation, whether at level of Screening or after presentation before the Task Force it would not be allowed to apply again till a cooling period of two years has elapsed.

5. Can a college request addition of new departments during the ongoing tenure of support?

Colleges requesting addition of new departments should first complete one cycle of support i.e. 3 years with the departments that the grant was recommended for.

6. Who can be a Coordinator for a Star College Programme ?

The Star College Programme encourages young and energetic faculty of a College to assume greater responsibilities besides their routine roles and functions. A Co- ordinator should be active, engage in networking with other Departments seeking support under the DBT-Star College Programme and should be involved with the overall functioning of the programme in respective Colleges.

The Coordinator for the Star College Programme shall be responsible for the coordination between the Colleges and DBT; thus the change of coordinator shall not be entertained during the entire duration of the support unless there is some personal issue due to which the coordinator is not available, for duration of more than six months at a stretch.

7. How is a new proposal processed?

• Applications must be submitted through the online portal of DBT e-ProMIS and all mandatory information should be uploaded.
• Consideration shall be given to regional requirements, women's colleges, autonomous colleges and colleges from Aspirational
• Applications shall be initially screened by an Expert Committee constituted by Shortlisted Colleges shall be called for final presentation before the Task Force. Site visit, if required, will be undertaken to arrive at final decision. Decision of Task Force will be final.

The decision of the Expert Committee/Task Force is generally communicated to all applicants via email along with the observations of the Committee.
For discussion or evaluation of proposals, members of committee must declare a conflict of interest if they or close professional associates will or might benefit, directly or indirectly, from any support. The potential Conflict of Interest will be discussed and rated as high, medium or low and the member(s) will be either asked to leave the meeting for the duration of Committee’s deliberations regarding the relevant proposal, or to refrain from any discussion and participation in decisions related to the proposal(s).

8. Is there any guidance provided by DBT during the tenure of support?

For any assistance, recipients of the DBT-Star College grant / Co-ordinators may contact:
Programme Head: Dr. Garima Gupta, Sc. E, Department of Biotechnology, Room No. 510, 5th Floor, Block 3, CGO Complex, New Delhi-110003 Tel: 011-24369385 Email: garima[dot]g[at]nic[dot]in

9. Is there a mechanism for mentoring colleges aspiring for support under DBT Star College Programme?

Each College supported under the DBT-Star College Programme is envisaged to promote networking and strengthen ties with neighboring institutions and a separate fund is provided for mentoring activities.

A College aspiring to apply for a Star College grant may get in touch with the neighbouring Star College. A list of Colleges supported under the DBT-Star College Programme with contact details of Co-ordinators is provided below.

Additionally, DBT also conducts workshops and outreach activities periodically throughout the country.

List of Star Status Colleges

List of Colleges supported under strengthening component

Approved latest guidelines

Contacts Concerned Officer for more Information