Group Discussion in its simplest form is group communication in a systematic manner, giving every individual the opportunity to speak, share, listen, develop and go beyond that. In a group discussion there are various topics on which a group shares their thoughts. It is f ormal, yet develops a sense of comfort as it develops public speaking by opening a person up to their peers and thoughts of the same age group. The main aim of Discussion Forum is not just another ‘club’ that one can join. It is a wholesome idea that is b ased on peer support and positive peer pressure to help each other grow through mutual s upport. Qualities such as speaking, leading, organizing, managing, patience, listening, observing, planning and many more are developed. Information and knowledge about various subjects are also improved. Therefore, “PRINCIPIUM, A Discussion Forum” is designed with these core values.

The Discussion Forum aims at a Structured and Formal way of exchanging knowledge, ideas and perceptions among the members on a given topic. This Forum has a main aim of developing skills in inter personal communication and boosting one’s confidence. Discussion Forum generates creative thinking in all members providing different approaches towards a topic. When different views are exchanged on any issue, one can get a clearer picture of the problem and is able to understand it better.

The Skills developed can be listed as follows:

• Speaking
• Listening
• Leadership
• Taking Initiative
• Team Work
• Identification of mistakes and weaknesses
• Organizing
• Managing
• Patience
• Observing
• Planning Self-Learning/ Research

1) Entry in the Discussion Forum.

• Every student who wants to become a Member of the Discussion Forum shall have to fill up a form and submit a pre-drafted Personality Test Questionnaire.
• After the submission, the Form will be scrutinized by the Concerned Core Committee Member and the Concerned Core Committee Member will be at full discretion to select a new member.
• Before being inducted as a Member, the prospective member shall participate in 2 consecutive group discussions and his conduct and disciplinary performance will be assessed by the Members of Core Committee and Team Leaders. If he or she is found to be disturbing the Decorum of the Forum, he or she will be disqualified immediately from being inducted as a Member of the Forum.
• If during these 2 consecutive group discussions, the performance is found to be according to the disciplinary standards, then the student shall be finally inducted as the Member.

2) Conduct of the Group Discussion

• Every Team will conduct a Group Discussion twice a month.
• The Group Discussion within the Team will be conducted by the two delegated organizers which are mutually decided by the Team Leaders.
• Notice for the upcoming Group Discussion shall be issued by the concerned organizers of the Team respectively, 4 days prior.
• The discretion for selection of topic, selection of venue and selection of date of Group Discussion for every Group Discussion shall lie in the hands of the organizers.
• A reminder must be issued along with the Topics for the Group Discussion a day prior of date scheduled for the Group Discussion.
• Every Group Discussion must be executed in a manner as below: -
• 3 Minutes to be given to each member for the first round.
• 15 Minutes of open discussion for all the members.
• 15 minutes for the evaluation to be done by the organizers.
• After every Group Discussion, it is the responsibility of the organizers to provide the Critical Feedback to the participating members.
• The time limit for the conduct of whole Group Discussion shall not exceed 60 minutes.
• After the conclusion of Group Discussion, it shall be the duty of the organizers to prepare a report of the same within 24 hours and circulate in on their respective groups in “Word” format.

A)Responsibilities for Core Committee

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• Core Committee is the Link between the Teams and the College.
• The responsibilities of Core Committee are as mentioned below:
• To supervise the working of the Discussion Forum as a whole and to secure Disciplinary Frameworks.
• To assure that the Teams are restrained within their ambit and supervise their functions.
• To Finalize the admission of new member by following the criteria and procedural requirements as mentioned Para no. 1 of this Draft.
• To ensure proper order within the Forum,
• To take decision for removal of member
• To take any disciplinary action as the situation may permit.
• To Review and analyze of the reports submitted by the Teams and thereby to convey the Feedback to the respective Teams.
• To prepare a performance report of all the teams and submit the same to the concerned supervisory faculty from college.
• To conduct a Session each month for all the Teams collectively as to make them aware of any information, update or performance of the Teams.
• Any one of the members of the Core Committee has to attend the Group Discussion organized by the Teams compulsorily.
• For any sort of Grievance with respect to working of the Core Committee or against its members, Team Leaders should contact other committee members or the Supervisory Faculty from college only.
• Core Committee is responsible for addition or removal of any policy measure according to the situation as it may arise in future.

B) Responsibilities for Team Leader

• Team Leader is a link between the Core Committee and his/her Team.
• The responsibilities of Team Leaders are as mentioned below:
• To maintain the decorum of the Group Discussions.
• To ensure that their respective teams are conducting 2 Group Discussions in a month.
• To ensure the fact that there are at least 2 Team Leaders present in every Group Discussion.
• To ensure that all the members are present for every Group Discussion.
• To make the team aware of the Policies of the Discussion Forum.
• To keep a check on the absenteeism.
• To ensure that the attendance report for the month of the members along with the Team Leaders is submitted to the Core Committee at the end of the month.
• To ensure that the reports for the Group Discussions have been compiled and submitted to the Core Committee before the end of the month.
• To ensure that the responsibility of organization is endowed to each member of their team and has been performed in the expected manner.
• To ensure that in any case of grievance from the members or fellow team leaders, they make proper arrangements to resolve the same and if they fail to do so notify the Committee about the same.
• To ensure that they provide proper guidance to any member of their team as and when there arises any requirement.

C) Responsibilities for Organizers

• The Organizers will be responsible for a single Group Discussion that they are selected for.
• The responsibilities of Organizers are mentioned below: -
• To arrange a single Group Discussion by fulfilling all required works. The required work may include the selection of topic from the Subject Inventory, deciding the time slot and the venue for the Group Discussion.
• To consult his/ her team leader for any assistance or help whenever he/ she feels so.
• To give Primary Critical Feedback to the participating members.
• To ensure that a proper interest is aroused in each and every member.
• to prepare a report of the Group Discussion organized by him/ her and submit it to the Team Leader and circulate a copy of it on the Group.
• The responsibility of the Organizer is limited to the Conduct of Group Discussion and evaluation.
• The Organizer shall not be held responsible for the attendance of the members.

B) Responsibilities for Team Leader

• Every member is supposed to be present at the Group Discussion.
• The attendance shall be marked in following ways as-
• Present
• Absent
• On Leave
• A member will be marked as “Absent” when he or she fails to attend the Group Discussion without any valid reason. Health related issues will not be included in the Absenteeism Policy.
• A member will be marked as “On Leave” when he or she has informed the organizers, with a valid reason, that he or she may not be present at the upcoming Group Discussion. Leave will not be included in the absenteeism policy.
• The member who, for a fact, knows that he or she may not be able to attend the Group Discussion for a time more than a month or two, may intimate the Team Leader and to the Committee, by making an application for the same.
• A member who has been absent for 3 consecutive Group Discussions will be terminated on temporary basis. This temporary termination shall be revoked only when he or she attends next 3 consecutive Group Discussions, organized post the date of Termination and the decision for revocation shall be taken at the sole discretion of the Core Committee and the team leaders.
• The power of terminating any member permanently will lie in the hands of the Core Committee.

5) Transitional Clause

• The structure of Discussion Forum is liable to be amended in future as per the requirements of the time.
• The structure of the Discussion Forum may change in form of different departments being formed with different responsibilities to be endowed thereby.
• As the Members will acquire experience, they will be endowed with additional responsibilities which may concern the working of Discussion Forum either as a whole or a part function of it.
• The growth opportunities in the Discussion Forum will be according to experience and the capability and not according to their seniority.
• The growth opportunities will include the transitions as mentioned below: -
• Team member can become a Team Leader by proving himself/ herself capable of taking the responsibilities.
• A Team Leader can become the part of the Department to be created in future which will be done by judging the performance of the respective Team as a whole.
• The Composition of the Core Committee shall not change at any time in the future, unless there arises any situation which may lead to removal of a Committee member in case of any Disciplinary action or due to personal reasons.
• The new admission to the Core Committee in case of any vacant position will be done through an election which shall be conducted within the Discussion Forum and the existing members will vote for the same.

6) Miscellaneous Clause

• The amendment in the present policy shall not be done except if the situation demands so.
• The amendment in the present policy, if any, will be done by the Core Committee at its sole discretion.
• The Team Leaders or Team members may propose any change in the policy, but the change will only be brought with a deep thought and consent of the other fellow team members.

According to this setup, The Core Committee consists of 3 permanent member who are selected according to majority votes.

This Core Committee is responsible for the functioning of the Discussion Forum. The Committee is involved in all the correspondence with the college and keeps a check on the Group Discussions by the Teams collectively.

The next are the 3 teams. These teams include of the 4 – 3 – 4 team leaders selected by the committee, respectively who are responsible for their team’s performance. The team leaders are responsible for the Group Discussion of their team. There will be no additional responsibility which shall be endowed to the team leaders, except in any future situations, all the matter necessary to conduct a Group Discussion.

The last part is the team in itself. The team consists of the Team leaders and the New members who are 10 in numbers. This team will be holding the Group Discussion, preparing the report and doing other allied activities which are important for a Group Discussion.