Government MCA College, Maninagar MCA Review By Navneet Mehta

Government MCA College is located in Ahmedabad that has just MCA course. There are 3 sections in all with 70 students each. Entrance is the way plus the students of BCA streams are preferred over others. The age criteria are not there and therefore you will find students who are in their 30s in the college. This was weird initially but once I started getting along well with them, it helped as they had the experience of working in the industries. The college’s faculty is notable and were quite helpful in all the ways they can. Sports were encouraged as staying indoors all day made most of us lazy. The college has an indoor as well as outdoor sports complex that was hardly used. The academic calendar was jam-packed as the course is divided into 6 semesters and each semester has both theory and practicals. Life at the college was hectic as projects were not limited to the college but we were given enough work that made us work at home as well. Luckily timely submissions and sharing new ideas gave us extra marks at practicals and this motivation was enough to give all our sweat and blood into it.

For the first time, I saw these trimester rules where we had 20 weeks semester. There were 6 semesters and each semester had 4 theories and 2 practical subjects. All the subjects have to be cleared at the end otherwise even if you have the offer letter and you are stuck with even a single subject, you will lose out on placement. Some of the subjects have already been covered at the BCA level and felt unwanted at this level. The academics part on whole was quite lengthy and for those 2 years apart from the 2 weeks break between the semesters was the only time we could plan anything on our own.

Faculty were roped in from all parts of India as MCA is a much underrated course. The best were roped in to make sure that students attend the classes regularly and classes give them enough to pass throughout and also score well at the university exams. The faculty were not at all strict. They were happy if we wanted to leave the class mid-way and do our self-study. There was a common room for teachers and staff and we were allowed to enter the teacher’s common area whenever we wanted to ask doubts.

After all, it was the placements that took all of us at this college and the college's placement department did all bit to make sure that students are placed with maximum packages. Won’t go with the figures but the kind of jobs and the companies that offered those jobs were the best that one can expect. All the blue-chip IT companies have realized what MCA students can bring to the table, plus they are available at a much lesser price than M.Tech students. I was placed with Wipro and was sent for training for 4 months before my final joining. Training is obligatory at IT jobs and this is what we went through after getting placed in some of the renowned corporate.

The college doesn't have its own hostel. The Maninagar area in which the college is located was also once the constituency of Mr. Modi is the best place for students to find accommodation. There is one Lal Bhai Boys hostel in the area and numerous paying guests' facilities available in a price range of 4-10k. Outsiders were galore and they didn’t have to look beyond the Maninagar area for accommodation.

GMCA campus is small and compact. One college building with ample parking space and surrounded by residential area. The main building has all the modern facilities from the whole building being Wi-Fi enabled to digital classrooms and labs. The library is not the biggest but it has all the books related to the course and with the latest magazines in the world of technology. The sports room is at the second floor of the building that has 2 carrom boards and 2 table tennis tables. The student reading room was quite peaceful and was opened till 8 pm at night. The computer lab was huge with 100 pcs and all the latest software’s installed in it. The highlight of the building was the beautiful Vivekanand Seminar Hall which had invitees almost every week. The building is new and has CCTV cameras installed on every floor.

Haggle was the most inevitable thing on the campus. Students were seen rushing to one corner in groups to complete the projects. The reading room was more occupied than the sports room as we hardly had time to invest in any other things. The competition was so fierce among the students that the race for the top was followed like how we used to keep an eye on the toppers. It was likewise here but amid all the chaos one thing that stood out was the bond that students and teachers shared. There was just 1 event that took place at the end of the year and students were least interested as studies were always on our mind and taking time off was not an option. The college, therefore, used to invite some singers and dancers from outside to perform and entertain us. Life at MCA was boring as there were not many fresh elements other than studies.