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T.Romana College, since its inception, has practiced Decentralisation of power in the administration of the college. These practices of the College can be regarded as one of the best practices of the institution.

Decentralisation indicates dispersal of authority among a number of units. It refers to delegation and dispersal of authority for decision-making in various facets of organizational operations throughout the organization on the form of semi-autonomous units, subject to overall control by the Central management authority. In an organization where authority is decentralised, decision-making units with some measure of autonomy are created at functionally appropriate levels.

Being an affiliated College, which is part of the overall system of higher education, the College functions in a system of dual control. The University to which the College is affiliated exercises academic authority and attempts to regulate it accordingly. The courses of study, the curricula, the pattern of academic governance, examinations as part of evaluation of students and award of degrees, diplomas and certificates come in the realm of the University. University structures such as the Academic Council, Board of Studies and Board of Examinations take care of managing College related issues on academic matters. The teachers are duly represented in these bodies and are therefore involved in the various decision making bodies.

The state Department of Education and Human Resources Development governs T. Romana College like all other Deficit Colleges in Mizoram in accordance with a separate set of Rules known as 'The Mizoram Aided College Management (Amendment) Rules, 2003)'. The Rules requires the constitution of a Governing Body, with the approval of the Government of Mizoram, for a deficit College to look after the maintenance of the physical as well as the day to day administration of the College.

The Governing Body has the sole authority in matters of appointment, dismissal and suspension of the Principal, Lecturers and Office Staffs. The allotment and sanction of funds for special projects, up-gradation and general improvement of the college are undertaken by the Governing Body.

The Principal who acts as the Ex-Officio Member Secretary in the Governing Body is the head of the College and holds a high image in the eyes of the public. He is vested with a number of statutory powers in the management and control of the college as an organization. Practically, the College administration revolves around the Principal who is responsible for the overall control and administration of the College. The Principal delegates some of this authority and assigns responsibilities to his subordinates as far as possible.

The administrative hierarchy of the college consists of the Principal, Heads of Departments who are entrusted to look after the different (eight) departments, Librarian and Head Assistant who are entrusted with the library and office respectively. The Principal appointed by the Governing Body is also the Member Secretary of the Governing Body. The Board Meetings convened by the Member Secretary with the approval of the President are conducted as and when the need arises. All the members of the Governing Body are expected to attend such Meetings to participate in discussions for the betterment and improvement of the College.

The Principal as the administrative head of the institution convenes periodical staff meetings to develop continuous interaction among faculty members. Meetings are also conducted with Heads of Departments at a regular interval which acts as an effective internal quality check in the academic front.

In such meetings, members review student’s performance in various tests so that remedial measures could be undertaken to improve the performance of weak students. The interactions between the Principal, Heads of Departments, Lecturers as well as Student Union Bodies provide an important feedback mechanism for the college authority to have an in depth knowledge regarding the regularity of classes and in solving the problems of various Departments. Review of the University Examinations are also undertaken which acts as an internal quality check of the teaching and learning process.

In order to felicitate the smooth functioning of the academic and administrative activities, the Principal has also constituted a number of Committees such as Academic Committee, Examination Committee, Grievances and Redressal (Discipline) Committee with a view of creating quality awareness, evaluation of the actual performance, conduct of examinations and internal evaluations. Such bodies also give suggestions and recommendations for further improvement and advancement.

The practice of decentralisation of power in the administrative system helps to reduce the workload of the Principal in the College. As such, the Principal can devote greater time and attention to important policy matters. The system also helps to improve and inculcate better cooperation amongst the various stakeholders of the College.

The system thus fosters team-spirit among the subordinates. With the adoption of the system, decisions can be taken faster as there is hands-on awareness in the lower levels regarding the realities of different situations.   This avoids red-tapes and delays. It also reduces the strain on the organization communication system as decisions are made at the points of information generation and the points of action.

The College does face obstacles while practicing the system. Problems of coordination sometimes arise among the various units. Other obstacles include Duplication of functions and under- utilization of facilities. The system also leads to inconsistencies when uniform procedures are not followed by various departments or levels of operations. However, in such situations, the Principal as Head of the institution exercises his discretionary powers for the smooth functioning of the College.

Although the Mizoram University introduces courses, design and modifies curriculum to help students face the modern, complex and competitive world; the moral and spiritual values as well as vocational courses find little space in the curriculum. At the college level normal classroom teachings have done very little to support the students morally and spiritually.

To fill this gap T.Romana college has formed The Students' Evangelical Union which serves as an important instrument for lecturers to interact with the students and developed them to become responsible citizens with integrity and positive outlook.

Objective

The College aims at imparting value based Education with the help of the students' Evangelical Union. The meetings and gatherings of the S.E.U provide a platform for teachers and guest speakers to inculcate the qualities of honesty, sincerity charity and sympathy for fellow human beings. It aims to help the students attain a sound mind in a sound body by giving awareness against the consumption and addiction of drugs and other intoxicants. It encourages students to minimise their luxurious consumptions and other physical needs exalting the ideal of simple living an high thinking and make them able citizens who will stand against the corrupt ways of the society. Over all, the main aim of the college is to work through the SEU to revive the moral ethical and spiritual values of the nation and the state.

The practice

The College Evangelical union is an elected body. The student members elect their leader, Assistant leader, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and Finance Secretary. The Principal is the Chief Patron and there are other four lecturers appointed as Advisors namely Mr. Lalhmachhuana, Dept, of Education, Mr. Lalhmachhuana, Dept. of Public Administration, Ms. Jenifer Lalbiakdiki, Dept. of English and Ms. Baby Lalramsiami, Dept. of Education. The College believes that the only remedy for the many evils in the society is value education. The transformation of the youth would lead to the transformation of the society.

Educational institutions face the danger of imparting education which lacks in ideals of honesty, sincerity, Charity responsibility and national feelings. As little knowledge is dangerous, very often it is these half-educated youths that turn to become criminals. Such youth who do not receive a wholesome education are more likely to indulge in anti- social activities. If the education system had instilled in them qualities of head and heart, the educated youth would never become the pests of the society even if they were unemployed. The worst type of human exploitation is the readiness to accumulate wealth by all possible means to gratify our growing physical demands.

In other words, corruption is a crime committed by both educated and the uneducated who lack the qualities of honesty, kindness and truth. To solve the educated unemployed problem the college organises workshops and seminars jointly with the Students Self -Support Union and the Students’ Evangelical Union where lecturers and guest speakers introduce new ideas of self- employment and create appreciation for dignity of labour. The students are also exposed to work situations where they experience earning while learning. India is considered as one of the most corrupt nation of the world and Mizoram amongst one of the corrupt states.

The root cause of all these corrupt practices is the greed for more than we really need. Therefore, the meetings of SEU provides a platform for lecturers and others to speak and interact with students and encourage   them to minimize their needs and lead a simple, God fearing life. Awareness Campaigns regarding drug addiction and consumption of other illegal substances are also organised in the meetings of the Students' Evangelical Union. The counseling which the students received help them achieve and maintain a sound mind in a sound body.

To promote the spirit of Charity and sympathy for fellow human beings, visits to orphanages and disabled homes are organised. The students collect old clothes and money which is donated to the Homes. The Students’ Evangelical Union also collects and donates a small collected amount of money to help the few lepers of the state who are in desperate need of love, financial and physical care.

Obstacles

The College is yet to have a building of its own. It is not spacious enough to provide a separate room for the SEU. The meetings and gatherings are hosted in the students' common room. This disturbs the recreation of the other students. As the common room is adjacent to the canteen, the atmosphere is not serene enough for holding such meetings. The College is looking forward to having a new building where a separate room could be provided for such counseling purposes

Impact and achievements of the practice

To avoid becoming an institution that merely distributes degrees the college aims at imparting spiritual values of life for proper development of students and introduce practices that would make them befitting citizens. The aim of the College and the efforts put in by Lecturers to make students attain sound mind and a sound body, has given some fruitful results.

The teachings imparted against corruption and the exaltation of righteousness, virtue and honesty has much influenced the students. The members of the Students' Union are the first to have been effected by such teachings. There has been a drastic change in the use of the Students' Union Funds. The difference in the disbursement of funds by the present Students' Union Body and the Students' Union of the past is note worthy. Some students have refused to apply for the Tribal scholarship realizing that it requires the production of false income certificates of their parents.

Though recommendations are often made by Lecturers to make the curriculum more vocation oriented, it is difficult to bring a sudden change. Therefore, the Lecturers and guest speakers have used the meetings of the Evangelical Union as a platform to speak and introduce occupational skills in rural and farm sectors like farming, agriculture, horticulture and other allied fields.

The college is comprised of students from different backgrounds, though students from rural areas constitute a major part of it. The students of rural areas have put to use the knowledge that they acquired in the college. The students are practically exposed to different work situations which imbibes in them the sense of dignity of labour. Many of the economically disadvantaged students in the college are no longer hesitant to engage themselves in manual labour to earn their pocket money and the minimum requirement of student life. Self help is the only reliable tool in the modern world where employment is one of the biggest problems.

The Students' Evangelical Union initiates steps to check the abuse of drugs and consumption of any form of intoxicants. They put up posters and banners educating their fellow students against the consumption of such harmful substances.

The Students' Evangelical Union promotes the idea of simple living and high thinking. The students are encouraged to have minimum needs knowing that the desire to have more than what we really need results in corruption. The students of the college have started to dress in a simple and respectable manner. The girls and boys no longer regard fashion as their special prerogative.

Visits to Orphanages and disabled homes have reawakened the spirit of sharing and giving. The students have also donated money for the lepers who need care for their further treatment. This is the result of the effort made by the lecturers and Evangelical Union to revive the moral, ethical and spiritual values of the nation and the state.