Practicals: Practical in laboratories, on the shop floor or in the field are essential components of the learning process, in all professional institutions. Laboratory experiments, workshop jobs and field work are intended to make the students familiar with the basics of different processes and operations. They encourage the students to see and to do or discover, what they read or what they are told. An inquisitive mind tries to look at different machines, equipment and gadgets and wonders at the mesmerizing role that they have played in the lives of the people. The facilities available in the institutions are generally very limited, but, the little spark that may be kindled, helps the students in pursuit of sufficient knowledge and skills to enable them to feel comfortable in the performance of day to day sundry tasks and for doing something useful, something better and something challenging.
Workshops: Workshops in all educational, vocational and professional institutions provide facilities for basic training in common trades like carpentry, smithy, fitting, moulding, welding and machining. Institutional workshops do not have assembly lines and are not production centres. All the same, with all the equipment, machines, materials and manpower, it has tremendous potential for the production of something useful. Carpentry shop is all about planing, shaping and jointing, All students are provided with individual jobs for the acquisition these basic skills. As soon as they are able to complete the prescribed jobs and they feel comfortable with the basic skills and operations, they are provided with one of the components of a utility item like a stool or table or any other piece of furniture. The students still work individually and shape only one piece of utility item, like leg of the stool or the cross piece, but, the very feeling that it will become a part of a utility item, when it is assembled, inspires them to hone their skills and to put in all possible effort to produce a perfect job. Similarly in a welding shop, all initial jobs are intended to make the students proficient in basic skills. However, as soon as that phase is over, they lend their skills for the production of utility articles. Welding has tremendous applications. Most of the 4 ft x 2.5 ft x 2.5 ft tables for the study of students in their rooms in the hostel were fabricated by the students from angle iron, in the workshop. The portal of the main entrance of the polytechnic was fabricated by the students in 1963 and it still stands there to serve as a reminder about the involvement and efforts of the students. Similarly, supporting frames of basketball boards, hockey and football goal posts and host of other items in the polytechnic were fabricated by the students by lending their hands to some of the operations. To top it all, the components of lathes were moulded, finished and fitted by the students to yield two working lathes. The whole emphasis continues to be on training, with some exposure for the production of utility articles for fruitful application of acquired skills.
Electrical Workshop: Elelctrical workshop is all about wiring, jointing, motor winding and study and troubleshooting of common household fittings and gadgets. As soon as the prescribed jobs are completed and the students are able to acquire sufficient knowledge, skills and confidence, they are involved in some of the outdoor jobs. An intercom with 50 lines was obtained from Bangalore and was installed in the institution with distribution lines in all rooms by the students. As an extension work, the institution undertook to service all electrical installations of the collectorate and other other government offices, which involved oiling, cleaning and greasing of the fans and other electrical appliances, including rewinding of the burnt out fans and other gadgets. This activity was a great learning experience for the students and in the process the institution got some sort of recognition as a useful member of the community.
Field survey of Shastriagar: Development of Shastrinagar in the virgin land lying south of Sardarpura was a prestigious project of urban improvement trust of Jodhpur. We undertook to prepare a contoured survey plan of the area as a part of the project work of final year students of diploma course in civil engineering. Survey parties of students were formed and specific areas to be covered by each party were assigned. Triangulation stations were set up, the area was traversed with the help of theodolites and all plots of land and other features were mapped with the help of planetables. Spot levels were taken and contours were drawn. The survey sheets of different parties of students were checked and reconciled and the final contoured map of the area was traced on a sheet of longcloth and was submitted to the urban improvement trust for the preparation of development plans by the town planner. Shastrinagar was a new development and there were apprehensions that there may not be sufficient demand for all the plots of land. As such, the state government had notified flat rates for allotment of plots to government servants:
Category 1: Plots of land upto 500 sqm @ Rs 3 per sqm for employees of low income group with salaries below Rs 500 per month,
Category 2: Plots of land from 500 to 1000 sqm @ Rs 6 per sqm for employees of middle income group with salaries between Rs 501 to Rs 1000 per month
Category 3 Plots of land from 1000 to 2000 sqm @ Rs 9 per sqm for employees of higher income group with salaries between Rs 1001 and Rs 2000
As a gesture of goodwill, the chairman of the urban improvement trust organized the first exposition of the plots in the staff room of the polytechnic and all members of the staff were provided the freedom to pick up a plot of their choice. Almost 20 to 25 members of the staff laid their fingers on the plots of land marked on the map, not knowing at that time, that, the value of land was going to appreciate, more than 10000 times during the next twenty to thirty years.
Swimming pool: A 12.5 metres x 25 metres swimming pool was constructed by civil engineering students of the polytechnic in the main building of the institution, involving earthwork, concreting in foundations, masonry in side walls and finally finishing it with a reinforced concrete lining on the bottom as also on the side walls. While every student put in a few hours of work, the joint effort of the students resulted in the completion and commissioning of the first public swimming pool of Jodhpur in 1964. It used to remain open in half an hour shifts from 7.00 AM in the morning till 9.00 PM at night. The facility was extremely popular and was utilized by almost every youth of Jodhpur between the age groups of 15 to 25 during the sixties.
Concreting of tennis and basketball courts: Four tennis courts and four basket ball courts had been developed in the institution by the students and were in regular use in the evenings. These courts were gradually provided concrete floors by the civil engineering students as a part of training.
Subsequently, concrete blocks were also prepared in the polytechnic and were supplied to local municipal council and urban improvement trust for the construction of dividers on heavily trafficked roads.
Maintenance of buildings and furniture: The buildings and lands of the polytechnic were on the books of Public Works Department of the state government. A fleeting look at most of the public buildings and offices of the state government is sufficient to understand, that, in spite of all the grants, the priorities of public works department for annual maintenance of the buildings of the polytechnic were very low and whatever they were able to do, was too little and too late. All the same, we allowed them to do, whatever they could do. Thereafter, we picked up the least maintained portions of the buildings and worked on them with the help of students as a part of training to bring them on par with the best in the institution. That process continued and in course of time all buildings of the polytechnic were properly looked after and had a neat and clean look.
Painting and polishing of furniture was another big item of maintenance. We were able to undertake it during vacations. There was no dearth of local students who were willing to render helping hands. Again, we would select the least maintained room, repair the loose and broken parts of the furniture and finish them by painting and polishing and gradually all rooms had properly maintained and glossy furniture.
Concluding remarks: There is no dearth of resources, equipment and manpower in professional institutions. The involvement of staff and students in the development and maintenance activities of the institutions, provides a sense of belonging to the institution and gradually, the staff and students start taking pride in whatever they do. Getting involved in rough and tough jobs is a great learning experience and after leaving the portals of the institution, the students are always mentally prepared to perform in all types of situations in the field or on the shop floor.