BENGALURU: The assessment given by students will be one of the deciding factors for teacher promotions at the university level from the next academic year.
The expert committee constituted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), headed by former University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Arun Nigavekar, is all set to submit this as one of its recommendations by the end of January. According to committee members, so far they have conducted five consultations in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chandigarh. “We have been asked to examine the ways to retain young talents in the teaching profession. During our meetings, everyone stressed the importance of students’ assessment,” a member told Express.
Only students who have an attendance of 75 per cent or more will be allowed to participate in the assessment. “There is no meaning in assessment by irregular students. So, we are sticking to 75 per cent attendance,” a member said. The assessment will be done online and the committee is working out a system similar to the one in practice at the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. The members refused to reveal the weightage that will be given to students’ assessment.
“There will be some more academic performance indicators that will get more weightage for teaching at the undergraduate level and for research at the PG level. We will get the final picture after the January 13 meeting,” a member said.
The Trailblazers
Interestingly, some colleges affiliated to Bangalore University are already practising the students’ assessment system. Among them is VHD Home Science College.
Its principal H C Ramappa told Express, “We have been following (the system) since 2010. When their (teachers’) pay is revised, we provide a set of 10-15 questions to students, and we send the score to the UGC.”