An institution that has taken its mandate seriously for a century

Lady Willingdon Institute of Advanced Study in Education, earlier known as Lady Willingdon College of Education, in Triplicane, was established with the mandate of teaching “methods appropriate to teaching of English, all subjects to young children, History, Geography” through a G.O. on Nov 4, 1922

Lady Willingdon Institute of Advanced Study in Education, earlier known as Lady Willingdon College of Education, in Triplicane, was established with the mandate of teaching “methods appropriate to teaching of English, all subjects to young children, History, Geography” through a G.O. on Nov 4, 1922. The first batch of students graduated in April 1923.

On Monday, the 100-year-old institution will hold its college day even as it is planning for a bigger event towards the end of the year. The institution has religiously adhered to its edict — from offering Licentiate Training (LT) then to bachelor’s in training (BT) in 1940 and later bachelor’s in education (B.Ed.,), the degrees have metamorphosed but the directive of the G.O. is sacrosanct.

The institution has been renamed Lady Willingdon Institute of Advanced Study in Education and as with institutions of such repute it is facing its share of heartaches. The institute conducts counselling for B.Ed programme has seen a marked decline in the number of applicants. From 40,000 applications in 2007, it now gets only 5,000 to 6,000, after the programme was converted into a two-year course.

Also, some subjects such as Home Science find no takers and Geography is not in demand. The demand for English and Mathematics is robust. Though seats in Tamil get filled, the demand for science subjects, especially Botany and Zoology among men is very low.

The institute has placed a request for a new library. The building in which the institute is housed was erected in 1939 and the administration moved into the current campus from the nearby Queen Mary’s College for Women in 1945. “The building has developed leaks as rainwater stagnates on the roof. We have requested a new library,” said M.S. Thillainayaki, Principal.

A request for a new auditorium has been made. The auditorium on the ground floor can only house around 200 people. It is the venue for the annual B. Ed counselling. With all applicants called for counselling the institution is struggling to accommodate all of them during the process.