In 30 years of teaching experience, Dr Charubala Mohanty has been posted in many colleges of Odisha. She found juggling home and college work hard but enjoyed the journey.
At present, posted as a reader in Philosophy at Choudwar College, Cuttack, Charubala has always been a role model for her near and dear ones. “I have a very good rapport with students and my colleagues inside and outside college,” says the soft spoken lecturer. Apart from teaching, she was always very active in organising seminars and cultural programmes in colleges. “It was the best time to interact with students and getting to know them personally.”
She feels that while the number of colleges have increased during the past decade, the quality of students inside the classroom has decreased. Only five per cent of the students are regular to classes, she says. “Again, our syllabus is not on par with any national or international unversity. So after graduating from here, students hardly get a chance to study outside,” says Charubala who believes that the Government should focus more on core subjects and revise the syllabus according to the needs of changing times. Another matter of concern for her is that students who fail to get admission in other subjects opt for Philosophy leading to sub-standard performance in the subject.
She was part of the Red Cross and coordinated State level camps for students during the year 2000 while at Emarti Devi Women’s College, Cuttack. She has also taken part in several women empowerment programmes and capacity-building workshops. “More workshops and seminars on women empowerment should be organised to increase their strength. By nature, women are empowered, it is the society which is male-dominated that has supressed them for years,” she says.
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