University of Lucknow BCA Review By Balwant Singh

Overall, Lucknow University is a reputed educational institution of Uttar Pradesh and holds a respectable position among the state-run government universities. All other colleges have to take affiliation from the university to run a college/degree course. If you are able to clear the merit list and get admission to the college, I highly suggest you go for it. It is better than most of the colleges in Lucknow and also adds weight to your degree no matter wherever you go afterward. The recent real-estate developments and the metro project has made it feasible for students to reach the university on time and avoid traffic. The faculty is good in most departments and I'm sure you can find good mentors for yourself. It is NAAC certified and graded so no problems there.

The admission process is tiresome as there are a lot of applicants each year and you have to go every time to confirm a notice or a process. It is made unintentionally difficult due to the poor planning of the college management. The college management is slightly slow and you may find it a little disheartening as the offices are located at the farthest end of the department. So, a decent college with minor flaws in the management and ambiance department.

I joined University of Lucknow (Old Campus) in the year 2013 and pursued the degree of Bachelor of Computer Applications. The entrance to the institution is based on the merit list of the applicants according to the cut-off determined by the university. I managed to qualify for the course and enrolled in the classes after a few document verifications. There was no entrance exam at that time but there have been instances of entrance exams for professional courses like BCA, BBA, etc. after my graduation. BCA lays the foundation for students eager to learn about computer programming and that aren't from a computer science background. There isn't a restriction that you have to be from a particular stream to join this course.

The subjects in the first three semesters are a mix of one programming language, management, developmental phase, computer architecture, and mathematics. It does seem like a lot of complex curriculum, and I wish there was more focus on the computer-based subjects. This course can help you get jobs if you are good at programming and put in extra effort at home apart from what is being taught in college. But being a bachelor's degree scoring a good job is extremely difficult for anyone after BCA. You have to complete a master's degree to be on par with a B.Tech CSE student.

The faculty in our department was a blend of old and new ones. The older faculty were the permanent ones with decades of experience, but the new ones were on a provisional basis. The first two semesters were taught by provisional ones and then we got to interact with the permanent faculty after that year. There is no restriction as such but the basic subjects are taught mostly by the non-permanent faculty. We had 6 subjects with one or two lab subjects so four faculties were dedicated to one-semester students. The important thing to notice is the batch size was at most 70 so no overcrowding as such.

The faculties were proficient in their respective subjects although few seemed rather uninterested to us as the subjects were a mix of everything. Most faculties were at least MCA graduates or Ph.D holders with ample experience in computer science. The teaching though it was a professional course was average as the teachers were sometimes teaching subjects that they knew little of. So proficiency wise, a little bland as per my expectations, as college is a lot different from the school. But I learned a lot from them about future prospects in computer science.

During my session, the department lacked a placement cell that could draw interested companies to the computer science department. Being a bachelor's degree nobody expected to be placed and it was exactly that mindset that further increased the disregard of authorities towards placements. If you specifically want to be placed after BCA this is not the right college now.

Although, after four years things might be a little different from what I know, placement is still a concerning issue at Lucknow University. Most students opt for an MCA degree after BCA with other reputed universities that bring placements to students or complete their degree from the college itself. So it's better to look at private universities if you want to earn after college with a bachelor's degree itself. There isn't much to say about the package offered or the number of students placed as there is no placement cell.

The hostels are pretty old and in barely admissible condition with bearable amenities such as electricity and water. The accommodation is not very costly but the quality is not that promising either. I was a day scholar but tasted the food a few times in college. There was a dedicated menu but the items were just there for namesake. Food grains used were of average quality and the gravies were watery as the rush intensified in lunch hours. The quality varied on different days but the taste wasn't bad. They prepared the mess food as it is showcased in movies, messy. Nothing more than that. The girls' and boys' hostels are separate and none of the students from either side are allowed inside the hostel premises.

There is a shortage of accommodation and you might not find a place every semester to stay in the hostel and may have to look for a PG nearby. The security system is average with nothing super-advanced, but record-keeping is done to keep track of the student's whereabouts and the warden is keen on imposing the rules on the students. If you get a room with your batch mate your hostel life becomes much easier than it normally is. The hostel fee is quite low from what you are charged in a private university but the chances of getting the hostel facility are very tough for every student. Also, students belonging to the backward category are taken care of and have some system in place to refund the fee. So, if you are a student from a backward group, you will be most likely reimbursed with every penny you spend for education and hostel in the college.

The Infrastructure is average at Lucknow University as it is an old heritage site that is a century-old now. The university is spread in a humongous area with departments different branches of a stream and is a good site to explore and wander around in free time. The college has ample greenery and water fountains that run dry in summers, but there are a lot of small parks and huge trees to sit and relax. The university has a massive central Library named the Tagore Library and houses thousands of books inside it. It consists of old and new books but mostly older books belonging to almost every department. The individual departments have their own respective libraries of smaller size and collection but you can get most of the information from the main library.

The amenities are poor inside the college as you will find a shortage of clean drinking water and tidy toilets. These things make a difference and can be a huge deal-breaker for a few students. I hope they look into this. Every department has a small auditorium but the main events are held in the main auditorium that I never got a chance to visit. The cafeterias are both cheap and expensive it depends upon your budget. There is a new Dominos store just outside the university for people devoted to the brand. I have no idea about the medical response team of the system in place.

It is a vibrant campus life with good exposure to various skills such as sports, art and craft, technology, mathematics, and much more. There is an event almost every week that always has something for everyone who wants to compete. There are sports teams of every major game and frequent competitions are held to check the caliber as well as identify new talent. You will have the supports of your seniors that will help you out with your projects and subjects that bore you. There was no sign of hostility in our department but I cannot speak for the whole college.

There are various gates to enter the university and after the recent metro station built just outside gate number 4 reaching the college is not a difficulty now. It has ample parking space but the students are charged for it. The annual festivals, as well as, convocation ceremonies are held to honor the students that have excelled in the course. Overall, campus life at Lucknow University is very engaging, interesting, and unforgettable for the rest of your life.