Special Correspondent - Education

Pics by Daya Kukkaje
Daijworld Media Network

Mangaluru, Dec 10 : Education and learning are said to be the best life changing experiences and this is very well exemplified in undivided Dakshina Kannada district which is a well-known educational hub. When we talk about education and academic excellence, the name of Expert Coaching and Expert Pre-University College springs to mind. It is natural because academic excellence in these coastal districts has become synonymous with Expert coaching and Expert Pre-University College and vice versa.

It is not surprising that the students of this college begin their day in college by singing the college anthem aptly titled “Shrama Eva Jayathe”, emphasizing the importance of hard work. When students sing this in unison with folded hands, eyes closed, they are at the epitome of concentration and nothing can distract them. It means that these themselves students have realised that hard work at this stage alone can guarantee a secure future and enjoyment for the rest of their lives.

The name, fame, success, reputation and happiness that brought glory to Expert Coaching and Expert Pre-university College, making it a premier centre of education is the outcome of a passion, dedication and commitment to excel, shared and nurtured by the husband wife duo – Prof. Narendra L Nayak and Ushaprabha N Nayak. It is the fruit of their hard labour to excel in whatever they do, that has made Expert Pre -University College what it is today – the much loved, admired educational institution, comparable to international standards in terms of quality of teaching, infrastructure facilities and a conducive ambience for academic excellence. Needless to say it is also the most envied as others have not been able to emulate the excellence achieved by it.

A sturdy foundation

Expert Pre University College has two campuses – one in Kodialbail near Bhagvathi temple which was started in 2007. Kodialbail College has about 650 science learning students, mostly day scholars. In 2014 the residential campus of Expert P U College was inaugurated at Valachil much to the relief of parents and students. This 50-acre campus in the picturesque environs overlooking the lush greenery of Western Ghats is indeed a dream location for an educational institution. It houses about 1800 science learning students and boasts of infrastructural facilities which can be comparable to international standards. “This is what we have been aiming for all these years. Now we are happy as we have been able to come out with a campus designed to suit the needs and requirements of students with a tailor-made ambience for students to excel. Here we have made up for all shortcomings we which were facing at Kodialbail college due to space constraints”, declares Chairman of Expert Educational and Charitable Foundation Prof. Narendra L Nayak.

The residential campus at Valachil with a built in area of around 5.5 lacd sq ft which includes six hostel blocks named after the Greek alphabets like alpha, beta, gamma, delta, phi and lambda. The Library block at the entrance is aptly named Time Square as it has a giant clock which is the cynosure of all eyes. Being a residential school the campus is like a one stop shop for facilities like saloons, beauty parlours, cafe, food court, General Store, stationery, ATMs, coin box facility, unique telephone facility, health care centre, visiting doctors, doctors on call and many more. The acoustically will built multi-purpose cultural hall with a seating capacity of 1200 fitted with modern amenities is of international standards and the very enormity of the hall gives goose bumps. Cultural and music festivals are held in this hall every month giving an opportunity for students and art lovers so savour the best of music and dance.

Students of the residential campus are not allowed to have mobile phones or laptops with them. They are allowed to go home with permission only once a month. In emergency cases only with the special permission of the Principal students can step out of the college. But when it comes to missing the class there is a strict no no. As Chairman, Prof. Narendra L Nayak has strictly instructed the entire faculty to ensure that students should not miss out classes at any cost and that is a rule rather than exception.

Students can call their parents or guardians only through a latest sophisticated software technology by NEC. Coin phones are also provided at academic block as well as hostel blocks. The campus and hostel buildings are designed with scientific touch to provide proper ventilation and retain freshness in hostel rooms. However, students are provided all sorts of facilities in the hostels to make them feel comfortable. Everyday students will be given with their one pair of washed and ironed clothes. Maintaining hygiene is given top priority both in terms of cleanliness in rooms and in preparation of food.

Each floor of the hostel has a pantry to cater to the needs of students during odd hours. Centralised kitchen is under ISO certification.

Eye for minutiae

In fact careful consideration has been given to every aspect, be it the appointment of faculty, fully equipped labs, modern library, fixing of blackboards slanted to avoid chalk powder flying in air and with no glares from any corners, gallery system of seating, classroom furniture, audio video facility, natural light ventilation and much more. There is a separate e-library facility for boys and girls. “We have given utmost care to ensure comfort and convenience of both teachers and students. Kodialbail campus proved to be a learning experience for us as we could take corrective measures in terms of providing infrastructure in the new campus”, says Ushaprabha N Nayak, Secretary of Expert group of institutions. The labs are spacious, well furnished and equipped with quality instruments and amenities.

Being a residential school calls for enormous responsibilities for the faculty. As Ushaprabha N Nayak puts it “The basic advantage at this residential campus is that the college takes up the responsibility of these boys and girls who are in their teens. This is a big boon and relief for parents because they feel their children are in secure hands”...

Both Narendra L Nayak and Ushaprabha N Nayak dismiss the criticism levelled against Expert coaching and PU College. The accusation is that with a time table from 7 am to 7 pm it would turn students into robots and that it is like a jail inside the campus. Prof. Narendra L Nayak responds to it saying “We have understood that Pre University level education makes a difference to the life of a student. The discipline which they learn here will serve as a sturdy basis for their future. If the foundation is healthy, wide and strong these students can overcome any eventualities of life. Once students take up science there is no compromise. Another word for science is perfection and it requires hard work and time. You can’t expect science students to participate in all extracurricular activities and then come out in flying colours in academics especially in pre University level”.

The students who start their day with coaching from 7 to 8.30 am attend college from 9 to 12. Everyday students spend 20 minutes for compulsory yoga from 12 to 12.20pm. After 50 minutes of lunch break they listen to 10 minutes of music learning one raga per day along with commentary. Being a music aficionado Prof. Narendra L Nayak has realised the importance of music and believes that college is the best place to inculcate some music taste among students.

All the efforts put in by the college administration and faculty is reaping rich rewards as large percentage of Expert coaching and PU College students come under the top 100 in CET and other entrances for professional courses. And this is repeated year after year making expert the most sought after Science College in this part.

A small step – a giant leap

The journey of Expert Coaching which began in 1986 in a small rented classroom belonging to the Theosophical Society near PVS, is quite interesting. It was no doubt a humble beginning and what began as a coaching experiment with only 7 students on 1st day of 29th December 1986 became popular with each passing day.

Over the years this coaching institute has grown exponentially to become a massive institution of learning for over 2500 students in its two campuses. Prof. Narendra L Nayak who was just 22 then and was fresh out of his mechanical engineering graduate from Mysore University took up coaching as pass time. Little did he know that it would prove to be as a sturdy foundation for something bigger than what he could even envisage? “It was my elder brother who suggested that we start a coaching class. Till then even I was not aware I had the teacher within me. I got into the field by chance and not by choice”, Prof. Narendra L Nayak says.

But that is the beauty of life and the invaluable gift for taking up challenges head on. Narendra Nayak who hailed from a remote village in Sasthan was a meritorious student having secured 73rd rank in SSLC. He got a merit for Engineering and passed in distinction from Mysore University and that is when he realised the power of education.
Though he joined NITK Surathkal he resigned serving for two years to concentrate on his coaching Institute. By now Expert coaching had moved from PVS to bigger premises in Besant Complex. 1990 was breakthrough year for Narendra for various reasons. By 1990 there were at least 300 students who had become CA’s in Mangalore and Expert Coaching centre was slowly but steadily gaining popularity.

In the same year Institute of CA removed mathematics and statistics from its CA portion the very subject’s prof. Narendra L Nayak was teaching. Though he faced dilemma he was then compelled to take CET coaching for PUC students and thee has been no looking back since then. Prof. Narendra L Nayak ensured that his wife Ushaprabha completed her B.Sc and got her involved in coaching.

He minces no words to make a clear distinction between tuition and coaching and we are into coaching. “Coaching class is for the average and above average students who want to do their level best. Criticisms apart, we help students who want academic excellence”, Narendra says categorically. It was the expert coaching that helped student’s get into merit list of CET and other competitive exams spreading Experts name far and wide. Many outside students began taking admissions to different colleges in Mangalore with the main objecting of joining Expert coaching classes.

But the pressure of attending other colleges and coaching classes at Expert was a bit hectic for students and some parents suggested that Expert could start a college of its own. Today the two campuses stand testimony to the zeal, passion, the commitment, devotion, discipline, hard work and desire to excel exhibited by the Nayaks. Needless to say Expert PU College is creating quite a ripple in the educational filed of Dakshina Kannada setting new benchmarks which others find tough to emulate.

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For more information, please visit - http://www.expertclasses.org/

Contact :

Phone: 91 824 249 5996, 94819 74577
Fax: 91 824 249 6326
Email: expertcollege@gmail.com