Mission and Vision
The department of Botany, Government Victoria College, Palakkad, one of the Centre of Excellence in Botany under Govt. of Kerala, focuses on teaching and research services offering Bachelors to Doctoral programs in the field of Botany, harmonious multiculturalism, hosting students from almost all parts of the Kerala. The department is indeed a nurturing ground for creative excellence, engages itself as a rewarding and supportive pole to the students and alumni alike. The department aims in providing a professional atmosphere that is unique in the sense that it is fast-paced and exciting with the faculty deemed to facilitate a motivating, comfortable and positive academic impression. Since its establishment, the department had taken strenuous attempts to nurture and develop young minds to love and master the discipline of Botany. We believe in making our students socially committed individuals with a deep sense of moral values and personal qualities and to help them achieve their academic goals in a creative and positive way. The department has produced numerous post-graduates and research scholars who are serving luminous academic institutions and industries worldwide.
History
The undergraduate programme in Botany took its initiation in the year 1950 and Masters in 1970. The department has been recognized as a research centre under the University of Calicut in 2013. Since its inception, even without formal research protocols and administrative sanctions, department dynamically took up research by the active participation of the faculty and students. Since 1950, the department has created glorious alumni spread across the country engaged in many research and academic programmes of majority of the institutions.
Commitment to the community
The district of Palakkad was an epitome of agriculture based society and cultural practices in Kerala. The paddy centred agricultural sector that was once deep rooted is now gradually facing a shift to other crops; mainly due to lack of scientific support and resources. The department of Botany has been serving the society with maximum efforts to abate the absence of High-level institutions undertaking active research in agriculture that are rather scarce in Palakkad. The district also has Silent Valley National Park, Parambikkulam Wild life Sanctuary and many hill stations, which are part of the Nilgiri biosphere reserve.
The Western Ghats fetches a gap of about 30 km on the border of the Palakkad district and is one of the hotspots of biodiversity in India. Likewise, the remaining areas of the district are also rich and diverse in floral distribution. Serious studies on the flora of the district, the biodiversity degradation and its management are diminutive mainly due to the absence of research institutions in the field of biosciences. As the district lacks research exposure due to the absence of research institutions and library facilities, the emphasis given by the department in this aspect is an asset to the district.
Botany Programme
Prescribed syllabus is a perfect blend of both classical and advanced disciplines of botany, thus ensuring a wider knowledge that benefits the students in several aspects of their lives. The programme ensures that the students have their foundations laid strong and they get a complete idea of the subject that is enriched with positivity and creativity at different domains. The students who are fore seeing their career in the subject are made sure that they attain their capstone and for those who come to obtain it as a latter degree are employed to cope in the world with necessary life skills that make them competent enough to survive their lighted careers in their respective fields of employment.
Courses
- Graduate Courses
- BSc. Botany (6 Semesters-3 Years)
- Post-Graduate Courses
- MSc. Botany (4 Semesters-2 years)
- Doctoral Courses
- PhD in Botany
| Course | Subject | No. of Semesters | Sanctioned Strength | Shift |
| B.Sc. | Botany | 6 | 32 | 9.30 am – 3.30 pm |
| M.Sc. | Botany | 4 | 12 | 9.30 am – 3.30 pm |
Faulty Profile
The faculty of the department is committed and dynamically initiates themselves for the development and infiltration of science to the community and works with a passion to satisfy the mission and vision of the institution.
| Dr. Maya C. Nair Associate Professor & Head of the Department Teaching interest: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Plant Anatomy & Embryology, Palynology & Plant Physiology Research interest: Angiosperm Taxonomy & Palynology e-mail: drmayadhoni@gmail.com |
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Dr. Rashmi A R Assistant Professor Teaching interest: Plant Physiology, Cell biology, Mycology and Pathology Field of interest: Phytochemistry, Mycology and pathology e-mail: rasmibotany@gmail.com |
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Dr. Suresh V Assistant Professor Field of interest: Plant Systematics, Molecular Biology, Evolutionary Biology e-mail: sureshmagnolia@gmail.com |
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Mrs. Sajitha Menon K Assistant Professor Field of interest: Cell and Molecular Biology e-mail: sajithamenonk@gmail.com |
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Dr. Leeja Pramod Assistant Professor Field of interest: Cytogenetics e-mail: drleejapramod@gmail.com |
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Mr. Alen Alex Philip Assistant Professor Field of interest: Plant Taxonomy, Molecular Biology, Conservation Biology and Ecology e-mail: alenloveplants@gmail.com |
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Mrs. Reedhu Raj Assistant Professor Field of interest: Plant physiology, Ecology, Biotechnology e-mail: reedhuraj31@gmail.com |
Student Relations
The department has rich legacy of students who are culturally rich and diverse hailing from different parts of the Kerala and the adjoining States. The different perspectives coming together under one roof generates a healthy and innovative student community. The students are engaged academically at the bachelors and masters levels.
Tutorial System
Each student of the college will be assigned as ward to a member of the teaching staff. Students will meet respective tutors outside their regular class hours, as and when they need or when asked to do so for personal advice and guidance. Tutors will closely watch the progress of the students in the studies, regularity in attendance and behavior in the College and outside.
Mentoring SystemAttendance & Leave / Absence
The department actively enwraps a mentoring system. The mentoring scheme engages the students after their working hours. The students are made to discuss various areas of the subject and are guided through their rigor. This result in an overall development and improvement of the socio-cultural behavior of the students, resulting in more socially committed individuals.
Students are to mark their attendance at their tutor’s desk every day at the beginning and end of the work hours. Individually, the teaching faculty also maintains attendance of students in their respective classes and laboratory hours. All the attendance are taken into consideration to determine the attendance percentage of students at the end of each term.
Study materials
Faculty provides books, journals, articles, research publications, reading materials, e-books, pdfs and power point presentations of relevant subjects to students. The students are also monitored to actively collect and interpret academic, experimental and field data regarding various academical needs and interests.
Research activities
The department has been recognized as a research centre in Botany under the University of Calicut in 2013. Since then, the faculty has taken prodigious efforts to produce quality research in the fields of Plant Taxonomy, Microbiology, Phytochemistry and Plant Pathology.
- No. of students registered for PhD : 10
- Major Research programmes completed : 02
- Minor Research programmes completed : 04
- Ongoing research Programme : 01
- Publications : 50
- Seminar presentations : 20
Extension Activities
- Undertake L V Vaidyanathan memorial Lecture annually
- Carry out plant identification works for Pharmacy colleges, schools and for Forest Department.
- Provide training for students in Mushroom cultivation and horticulture practices
- Provide extension lectures to schools and colleges
- Provide coaching for CSIR-UGC JRF-NET examination
- Moderate academic enrichment programmes through Victorian Botany Alumni Association (VIBA)
- Active participation of students in the Bhoomithrasena Nature Club of the college
Botany Association – Victorian Orchids
The department has a departmental association, an admixture of the working faculty and students. Each academic year begins with the inauguration of the botany association by eminent personalities and ends with the valedictory programme of the association. Several programmes are hosted by the association throughout the academic year that upbuilds the prospects of the teachers and students alike.
Victorian Botany Alumni Association – VIBA
Victorian Botany Alumni Association has been formed in the year 2008 and since its formation, the association had one to two get together annually, until its revamping in September 2017. From September 2017, VIBA was rejuvenated with new membership drive and its activities got geared in October 2017 with the grant get together of alumni of the department along with the faculty who have served the department since 1970. Annually, average of six executive meetings of the VIBA are conducted to decide on the policy matters of VIBA. Retired faculties who have served the department since 1965 along with prestigious alumni of the department will attend the VIBA meet every year in the month of October or July and in the meetings. The great achievement of VIBA is the sponsorship by one of the great alumni, Dr. M. C. Gopinathan for an annual lecture series under the auspices of VIBA. As part of this lecture series, VIBA decided to plant a tree which is not present in the campus every year. VIBA started publishing a newsletter with memoirs of faculty and alumni who served the department since 1950. The first issue of VIBA Botanica got published in July 2018. The major outreach programmes of VIBA are
- Knowledge sharing on medicinal plants to farmers
- Knowledge Partner with VATIKA
- Sensitization programme for Panchayat members
- Nature Walk to Dhoni Hills
Infrastructure facilities available
- Library
The Department of Botany is having an excellent computerized library facility with more than 3500 reference books in 30 different disciplines and currently the department subscribes 10 indexed journals of national reputation. In addition to this, the department provides more than 150 e-book resources for the easy reference of updated information in modern branches of Biology. Moreover internet facility is freely provided for students to keep them updated on the recent developments in the research field. The department is having an excellent reading facility with sufficient furniture and effective display of books and journals. The computerization of the library stock has effected easy location of the books in the library. Internet and photocopy facility are also available.
- Research Lab
The Department of Botany has already been recognized as the Research Department under the University of Calicut and carry out PhD programme in Plant Systematics Phytochemistry , Microbiology & Plant Pathology. The equipment available at the department are sufficient for carrying out research programmes in Floristic studies of Cryptogams as well as Phanerogams, Reproductive Botany, Palynology, Cytology, Biochemistry, Anatomy, Ethno botany, Ethno pharmacology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology.
- Museum
The Department of Botany have a well displayed Museum with preserved (pickled and dried) plant specimens of all groups of plants ranging from Algae to Angiosperms and the specimens are QR coded.
- Herbarium
For the effective studies on floristic surveys an excellent collection of preserved plant specimens are available in the existing herbarium of the department.
- Germplasm maintenance facilityShade house:
Department is having a Shade house for the maintenance of germplasm of the rare plants as well as the variability collected from different floristic regions. The house also hosts several herbaceous plant specimens that are particularly of academic interests.
- Medicinal plant conservatory:
Department maintains a collection of rare and endangered medicinal plants in its natural growth in the form of a groove.
- Botanical Garden:
As botanical specimens are integral part of the study of Botany, a botanical garden with all the necessary specimens is essential. Department of Botany is maintaining a Botanical garden with QR coded plant specimens. The botanical garden is under its direct care and advertence. The prime attraction of the garden is a Gandhi statue, which makes the garden widely be called by the students as “The Gandhi Garden”. The entrance to the garden is adorned by the two majestic Cassuarina equisetifolia. Some of the major plants in the garden are Calophyllum inophyllum , Kleinhovia hospita , Tectona grandis , Polyalthia longifolia , Cycas circinalis , Azadirachta indica , Techoma stans , Hamelia patens , Beucarnea recurvata and some species of Heliconia and Alpinia .The pride of the garden is Pilea victoriae , a small herb of the family Urticaceae which was discovered by the initiative of the faculty of the department. The plant was validly published in the year 2017 and the type location of the plant is the campus of the Government Victoria College, Palakkad.
- Smart class Rooms
All the classrooms of the department is having modern audio -visual facilities and the classes are ICT enabled.