The College, named after Sri Shiridi Sai Baba, was established in October 1981 under the aegis of the Anantapur District National Education (ADNE) Trust, Anantapur founded by late Sri Sirivaram Adinarayana Rao in the year 1942. It is a voluntary organization comprising eminent persons from all walks of life, irrespective of caste or creed, all united in the sacred task of service to society in this backward and perpetually drought- affected area. The foremost aim of the Trust is to make quality education available to one and all at a very reasonable and affordable fee in the District in general and poor, underprivileged classes in rural and suburbs in particular. This august motto has been well served by all the successive Managements over the past six decades.
A Philanthropist, founder and great visionary, late Sri Sirivaram Adinarayana Rao started our Institution as an ordinary, elementary School in the year 1944. It was he, who actually put his heart and soul into the development of this Institution with his own meagre finance and limited resources. For many years, it remained a High School in thatched huts with very poor infrastructure facilities. Owing to the relentless, unstinted, and unceasing efforts of the successive Managements, this small Institution, in course of time, grew into a Junior College and later a Degree and PG College. Thus this small Institution has now grown into the gigantic edifice of a full blown Degree College, having PG Courses and imparting quality education through its Undergraduate Courses in Humanities, Commerce and Sciences. Thus, the long-cherished dream and desire of this backward region of Rayalaseema to have a premier educational institution in the private sector has been fulfilled.
This co-educational Institution had the unique honour of being inaugurated by Sri Bhavanam Venkatarami Reddy, the then honourable Minister for Education, Government of A.P. In October 1981, this Institution was started under able stewardship of the Late Dr. B.Purnachandra Rao as the Special Officer and the Late Sri P.Konappa Sastry, an eminent advocate, as the Correspondent. S.V. University, Tirupati granted affiliation at the first instance for six years and approved the Courses offered in the Institution. To start with, there were 500 Students, limited Staff, and a few Courses spread over the different faculties of History, Economics, Commerce, Political science, Botany, Zoology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Under the leadership of the Correspondent and the Special Officer, the first All Association Day was celebrated in February 1983. In keeping with the motto of service to society, the first NSS unit was also started during this period and the Late Dr. G.L.N. Murthy, Reader in Commerce, was the first Programme Officer.
In the year 1984, Dr. K.V.S. Prasad assumed the office of Principal-in-Charge and the Late Sri K.S.Jayaram was the Protem Correspondent. Dr. K.V.S. Prasad was elevated to the position of Principal in 1992. Sri P.L.N. Reddy, who was, an experienced Correspondent for both the High School and Junior College for two decades, took of the charge from Sri K.S.Jayaram as the Correspondent of the Degree College in the year 1985.
It is pertinent to mention here the yeoman service rendered to the Institution by Sri P.L.N. Reddy, the present Correspondent, who had the unique distinction of being the first Alumnus of this High School. He has left no stone unturned to make this Institution what it is today. As a member of the Senate and Syndicate of S.V. University, Tirupati and S.K. University, Anantapur for more than two decades, he has had cordial relations with outstanding Vice-Chancellors like Dr. D.J. Reddy, Prof. V.C. Vaman Rao and eminent Professors such as Prof. K.Satchidananda Murthy, and Prof. M.V.Rama Sarma. Himself a visionary, Sri P.L.N.Reddy has a deep commitment to nurture educational institutions which he combines with his vast and rich academic and administrative experience. This has largely helped him to shape this Institution as a premier and model Institution in the Sri Krishanadevaraya University area. It was on his invitation, that Sri N.Janardhana Reddy, Chief Minister of A.P., Prof. G.Ram Reddy, Chairman, U.G.C., Prof.P.V. Arunachalam, Vice-Chancellor, Dravidian University, Kuppam, Prof.R.Rama Murthy, Vice Chancellor, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Prof.Y.Venkatarami Reddy, former Vice Chancellor, JNTU and present Chairman, APPSC and Prof.K.C.Reddy, Chairman, APSCHE graced this Institution on various occasions. With his persistent effort, the College was admitted to grant-in–aid. He is instrumental in getting financial assistance to the tune of five crore rupees from various sources such as U.G.C., Rural Development Trust M.P. Lads etc.
It is also worth mentioning the name of Sri Meda Subramanyam, an eminent Advocate and Tax Consultant of the town and the present Secretary and Ex-Correspondent of the College, who has always associated himself with the allround development of the Institution with great gusto and pleasure. He has been with Sri P.L.N.Reddy to make this Institution achieve laurels.
Dr. K.V.S. Prasad, the first Principal of the Institution, served over a long period of two decades. There was a rapid expansion of buildings year by year with required infrastructure and increase in the intake of the students. Introduction of self-financing Courses and multidisciplinary Courses in B.Sc. (Microbiology, Biochemistry, Electronics and Computer Sciences) and B.Com. (Computer Applications) are the order of the day. A strong and sturdy foundation was laid for the training of leadership. Dr. K.V.S. Prasad’s concern for the student community was deep and he was completely identified himself with the College. IGNOU Study Centre was started in 1988 with strength of 50. It provides opportunities for employees to acquire higher academic qualifications. The Study Centre has grown by leaps and bonds since then. Many Students are pursuing different Undergraduate and Postgraduate Courses and Diploma and Certificate Courses at SSBN College Study Centre through IGNOU. Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, granted the College permanent affiliation in the year 1987. Later, in the year 1988, the affiliation of the College was changed from S.V. University, Tirupati to Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur. The Govt. of A.P. was pleased to admit this College to grant-in-aid in 1990 with munificent help of Sri N.Janardhana Reddy, the then Chief Minister of A.P with whom Sri P.L.N.Reddy, our Correspondent, is associated as a member of the syndicate Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati for over a decade. In January 1992, this Institution was admitted under Sec. 2(f), and Sec.12 (b) of the U.G.C Act, 1956. PG Diploma in Computer Applications and M.Sc. (IS) were introduced in 2001. Apart from the improvement and addition of new Courses, there was a distinct touch of moral purity and elevation given to the academic atmosphere during the regime of D.r.K.V.S.Prasad, who set an example of uprightness and gentleness.
Dr.K.Nirmalamma, the first women Principal of this illustrious Institution assumed office in July 2002. A steady swelling of the student enrolment to 2511 which includes 1100 women Students, expansion of Courses, improvement of buildings, remarkable strides in the co-curricular and extra curricular extension activities, modest attempt towards vertical development by the starting of four PG Courses in M.Sc. Electronics, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry and three restructured and self-financing UG Courses in B.Sc. (Microbiology-Biochemistry-Chemistry, Biotechnology-Botany-Chemistry, Microbiology-Computers-Chemistry) have been witnessed during the period of Dr. K. Nirmalamma. The Study Center of the Directorate of Distance Education, Acharya Nagarjuna Universiry, Guntur, was started in 2004 with student strength of 173. Counselling sessions are conducted for the students of six PG Courses namely Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology and Microbiology. To build adequate capabilities, a few Certificate Courses in speaking simple Sanskrit, Computer Awareness and Beauty and Health are introduced in the College.
The number of teaching and non-teaching Staff has also increased from time to time as per the requirements. Today the Institution has about 83 members as the teaching and 50 as the non-teaching Staff. Among the teaching Staff, there are 30 Doctorates, a unique distinction which no other degree college in the State can be proud of. Among the 30 Doctorates, 28 teachers are Readers. A distinct feature of the College is establishment of a Research Centre in the Department of Electronics. S.K. University, Anantapur, gave permission to Dr.Y.Narasimha Murthy, Head (incharge), the Department of Electronics, to guide the research scholars. The teachers of this College have also made a mark in their respective areas of teaching by conducting and participating in National Seminars, publishing articles in the reputed International and National journals, magazines and newspapers. As a mark of recognition of their work, the Principal, Dr. K. Nirmalamma, and five members of teaching faculty (Dr.B.Sivaramakrishna, Dr.M.Nazeer Ahamed, Dr.Y.Narasimha Murthy, Dr.C.Prabhakar Raju, Dr.P.P.V.D.N.Trisula Pani) have been honored with the “Best Teacher Award” by the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. The faculty are actively engaged in voluntary consultancy services.
Thus, the foundation has been laid for a brilliant future for this College given its dynamic management, experienced, competent and the committed teachers and excellent infrastructure. It has lived up to its expectations not withstanding its constraints and made itself eligible for status of an Autonomous College. The U.G.C conferred the Autonomous status from the academic year 2005. It is a matter of pride that this is the only College, which has gained autonomy in the entire district. Autonomy has paved way for the Institution to act independently and more efficiently to cater to the needs of the student community in a meaningful and purposeful way. It has also freed the Institution from the academic rigidities of the affiliating system in higher education. An opportunity has been given for introducing innovative and up-to date teaching techniques to shape the all round development of the Students.
The Autonomous status conferred on the College gave academic flexibility and intellectual freedom to the Institution design its own curricula. A challenging and comprehensive curriculum has been framed for the advanced learners and it should pave the way for them to seek admission to premier institutions of Higher Learning and equip them to pursue further education with ease. It supplements and complements their endeavour for occupying important public positions such as honest civil servants, competent professionals, committed experts, talented scientists and so on. In view of this, each department has modified the common core syllabus with functional orientation to the extent of not less than 20% in each subject to cater to the needs of higher education and employment.
The distinct feature of this Institution is its “student-centred approach” towards teaching-learning process. It has established good and intellectual traditions in imparting curricular as well as value based education. The teachers of our College are endowed with perseverance, future vision, fortitude commitment and dedication. They experiment in teaching and involve the students in learning. They use methods of teaching involving the use of modern teaching aids like charts, maps, models, remedial classes, seminars, group discussions, student project works, field trips, biological tours, career counselling and talent promotion. This has created conducive atmosphere for effective learning. With the introduction of self-financing Courses, the College got an opportunity to widen its scope and development remarkably to expose the students o the knowledge and developments and give them with the competitive-edge to face the situations with confidence in the areas of computer applications, biotechnology, biochemistry and the like.
The efforts put in started yielding good results from the very first batch onwards. In the first two years of autonomy, significant reforms have been made in teaching and evaluation based on the initial experience. The Institution has been achieving excellent results not only in terms of high percentage of passes in the University examinations but also in terms of the career positions occupied by its former Students. Many of the alumni have secured jobs as officers in State Services, Armed Forces, Banks and other commercial establishments, as faculty members of Universities, Colleges, Schools and research Institutions and as professionals in different fields. In any post-graduate center or University in the entire state, our College students are in good number in all disciplines. It has become a prestigious Institution with a high success rate as amply proven by the University ranks since its inception. The statistical data justifying this can be found in the College profile.
This Institution has made all the efforts in the right earnest to provide necessary financial and other kinds of assistance to the Students to acquire healthy and helpful experiences in the campus and to facilitate their holistic progress. The Institution also has an effective mechanism to use student feedback for quality enhancement.
This Institution focuses on the innovative efforts that help in its academic growth. Innovative practice is a pathway created to enhance the interest of the student and the Institution amidst constraints. This Institution promotes social responsibilities and good citizenry, an ambience of creativity and innovation and adopts quality management strategies in all academic and administration aspects.
Our College has been a hallmark for quality education all these 25 years. The College offers diversified modern self-financing Courses suitable to changed circumstances. Yet, the traditional Courses are equally intact and doing excellent service. It has achieved a vertical quantum of leap with the introduction of PG Courses and a couple of Certificate Courses. It is planned that this College will have more modern PG Courses before the end of the present decade. The student strength has increased enormously. Yet, “quality is the key word”.
The Management, the Principal, the members of Staff and Students continue to work hard to achieve greater glory and excellence in the years to come. With this glorious background, this Autonomous Institution marches ahead with robust optimism, strength and vigour in tune with growing and changing needs of the Students and community so that the vision of our Founder Sri Sirivaram Adinarayana Rao is achieved through the following future plan of action:
