GENERAL BACKGROUND
The Vijaya College, one of the leading private aided Colleges of the Dakshina Kannada district, was established at Mulki in 1963. Then there was lack of proper facilities for higher education in the region. People had to go to either Mangalore or Udupi for pursuing their collegiate education, which only a few students belonging to affluent families could afford. Majority of the girl students used to discontinue their studies after the completion of the secondary school education. This prompted a group of local people, to mention a few prominent names, late Dr. Rayappa Kamath, P.S. Mundkur, Devdas V. Kamath and Krishna Rao who had educational background and foresight to start a College to cater to the needs of economically weaker sections of the society, particularly, the small and marginal farmers, petty businessmen, Beary community and the fishermen. This idea of starting a College was adequately supported by late Padmashree Tonse Madhava Anantha Pai, the ‘Architect of Manipal’ and the founder Registrar of Academy of General Education, Manipal. The joint efforts culminated into the inauguration of the Vijaya College by late Sri.V.S.Kudva, an eminent industrialist and a great donor, on 11th July 1963. Dr.K.B.Ramakrishna Rao was the founder Principal of the College.
The College was then affiliated to Mysore University. When Mangalore University was started in 1980, the College came under the jurisdiction of Mangalore University. The College has grown into a renowned educational institution situated on a vast and beautiful campus, with spacious buildings, full-fledged staff, well-equipped laboratories and a good library, imparting quality education to the needy students of the surrounding areas. The College has obtained and utilised various grants of the Government and the UGC. A number of structures of the campus including staff quarters were constructed with the support of UGC. The College enjoys recognition by students, parents and the general public as a premier institution.
In accordance with the order of Karnataka Government, the Vijaya College was bifurcated into separate units of a Degree and a PU College in the year 2000. Since then, both the wings have been working in the same campus, sharing the infrastructure facilities, including library, playgrounds, etc.
The College is one among the several educational institutions sponsored by the Academy of General Education, Manipal. The College has grown into a premier educational institution of high repute over the years excelling in academic programmes in particular and cultural activities in general. The excellent coaching and disciplined atmosphere of the College have been attracting a large number of students from the surrounding areas, other districts of the state and neighbouring Kerala State.
Education at Vijaya College communicates to the teachers and the taught a sense of passion, energy and teamwork. The environment at the College stimulates interactive thinking, which facilitates the students to realise their potential. The culture at the College aims at inculcating the values of patience, tolerance, openness and trust that facilitate optimism, positive attitude and equal opportunities for all the students. The learning, which is not restricted to the College campus, lays equal emphasis on strengthening of character and ethics as well as knowledge enrichment and competitiveness.
The cardinal objective of the College is to provide facilities and create opportunities for the all round development of every student through curricular and a wide range of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. The College has all the academic and physical facilities to impart effective instruction in the curricular aspects with an emphasis on the practical knowledge, to provide a systematic co-curricular programme to suit varied interests of study and to impart value-based education. The College has earned a name for itself and carved its own niche in the area of higher education.
The College campus spreads over an area of 11.5 acres of land on which adequate infrastructure is set up. The main buildings of the College have been constructed on a small hillock, thus, blending the structure with the landscape. The campus is only 100 meters away from the river Shambhavi, which is the lifeline of the area. The location of the campus is found between two famous temples, Bappanadu Shree Durgaparameshwari Temple and Shree Venkataramana Temple. The historic Jain Basadi is just adjacent to the College campus.
Ideally situated amidst scenic beauty and rural surroundings, the College has all the modern facilities for effective teaching-learning process. The infrastructure and learning resources available in the campus are adequate to help the students to perform their academic and extra curricular programmes in a reasonably efficient manner. The College has almost all facilities available in a non-residential institution. The College has 24 classrooms, 6 laboratories, separate retiring rooms for girls, boys and the staff, conference room, audio-video room, spacious auditorium, two open-air theatres, a multi-gym, beautiful garden and a canteen. Bank and telephone facilities are also made available to the students and the faculty within the College campus itself.