Few years ago, the human resources development ministry made an announcement that professors would be required to have a PhD degree before applying for lecturer ship from the year 2021. But are research skills equivalent to teaching skills. Is the quest to discover something new be compared to the passion to impart knowledge.In India, teachers are given at most respect but the profession itself is seemingly losing its charm. Teaching is a profession that teaches all other professions influencing generations. Naturally this huge responsibility should only be taken up by the passionate ones.
However the craze and lucrativeness of a government job has crippled the recruitment process. The herd mentality of finding a comfortable and a secured job results in unnecessary competition in the field of teaching. The eligibility to become a college professor is an entrance exam. The UGC NET exam is conducted at both National and state levels. After the candidate has qualified this exam they can apply for lecturer ship in a university of their choice. But can a mere exam judge the capability of researchers and teachers together? In the golden age of coaching institutes ready to share their perfect strategy to crack the test. Candidates do not mind preparing for the second or third major entrance exams of their lives.
The only outcome of these entrance tests is the pernicious coaching culture. While the real and bright students are on their way to MIT and Harvard on merit-based scholarships. Such a system undervalues the importance of skill. It fails to recognize teaching as an art.
A very astonishing fact is that in higher education there is no need for B.Ed. or a similar course for teachers. B.Ed. is compulsory for school teachers in the country but are college students any less students. Training makes certain that professors are equipped with various teaching methods and are capable of handling students from different backgrounds. While it can be argued that a course can’t ensure a good teacher but lack of training does ensure substandard teaching. The quality of teaching depends directly on the quality of teachers.
Thus, it is impossible to not draw a connection between the state of teaching and the state of research in our country.
To improve the state of education it is important to take a step-by-step approach. One of the first steps is to build a strong foundation. An Important cue from the corporate world would be to set a common vision and unified purpose. To enable this a short course or training could be introduced for budding professors. Seminars and workshops by experienced educators for a few years in the start of their careers can steer them towards common good.
It is a known fact that professors after a few years in the profession tend to become complacent. They fail to keep themselves updated with regards to their field of study or experiment with different teaching methods.
Therefore, the next step should be to establish the culture of consistency. One way of doing this is to introduce a robust appraisal system. This would ensure competent teachers to reap the benefits of their fruitful performance and it also helps them remain motivated.
The third step would be to ensure accountability to students. Students are the consumers of the knowledge and the work done by teachers. What better evaluators than a student itself. A good anonymous feedback system will encourage students to give suggestions to their own teachers with regards to how they teach. Bais is a natural outcome of a feedback system but positive criticism can be filtered out to improve a teacher’s performance and to ultimately benefit the students.
This sacred profession’s lost beauty can be restored if we start now. Teaching is an art driven by passion to inspire. Because inspiration and role model are what a young mind needs.
Eduindex News 