COIMBATORE: Teaching staff of private colleges affiliated with Bharathiar University have demanded that the university resume answer script evaluation for distance education courses at its four centres in Tiruppur and Erode districts. They alleged that the four centres were closed by the university administration after Covid-19 situation without giving any reason.
An assistant professor at a private arts and science college in Erode district told TNIE that earlier, there were nine evaluation centres in Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode to evaluate students' answer scripts for distance education courses. He said that through this, teaching staff in their respective districts were deployed to evaluate answer scripts twice in an academic year at centres located in their respective districts. He recalled that after the pandemic in 2021, the university stopped answer script evaluation at four centres, two in Tiruppur and two in Erode, and now, evaluation is held only at five centres in Coimbatore.
He alleged that owing to this, teaching staff at colleges in Tiruppur and Erode are unable to partake in evaluation. Although they had submitted petitions several times, they had received no communication from the university, he added.
Another teaching staff said that while evaluation was held in Tiruppur, it would last a week, and teaching staff would get around Rs 1,000 daily, if they evaluated 60 answer scripts. He said that as this work has now been denied, around 100 teaching staff at least are affected. He added that as they get low salaries from colleges, evaluation work in the two districts would benefit them financially.
When inquired, a top official from the university told TNIE that he would look into this matter.