THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Is the absence of a comprehensive and foolproof mechanism to evaluate teachers one of the reasons for the drop in standards in the higher education sector? While a section of academics rue the dwindling number of teachers who truly ‘inspire’ students, another section blame systemic failures for the dismal situation.
According to A Jayakrishnan, former Professor at IIT Madras and former vice-chancellor of the University of Kerala, the faculty in premier institutions of the country such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are under constant evaluation till they retire. Not only are they evaluated at all levels of their career on the basis of their teaching and research output, they are also assessed thoroughly by peers and also by students.
“Assessment by students is a key component of faculty evaluation in IITs. There have been instances where explanation is sought from faculty members who may excel in all other aspects but are rated poorly by students. Along with peer evaluation and a comprehensive assessment of his or her academic and research accomplishments, a faculty member is constantly motivated to raise the bar,” he added.
Rajan Gurukkal, vice-chairperson of Kerala State Higher Education Council, said it is essential that the teachers in the higher education institutions have to be accountable at least in certain ways through institutional, self, peer and student assessments of their academic performances and faculty.
“Compared to the faculty members engaged in higher education institutions of national importance, those in colleges in the states are not in an intellectually challenging and demanding environment. As a result, there is nothing compelling them to maximise their scholarship and pedagogic skills besides research aptitude,” Gurukkal said.
Though many suggestions have been put forward to adopt a foolproof system of evaluation for teachers in higher educational institutions in the state, influential teachers’ unions have been accused of torpedoing such moves.
Refuting the charge of scuttling reforms, C Padmamabhan, general secretary of the All Kerala Private College Teachers’ Association (AKPCTA), said teachers have not opposed attempts to evaluate them but have only raised questions on the methodology adopted for it.
“Student evaluation of faculty has been adopted by many institutions, especially as part of the NAAC accreditation process. But unlike IITs, student evaluation in aided colleges may not be objective. Also, there is much scope for improvement in terms of peer evaluation as the parameters used for it are not uniform across the state,” Padmanabhan said.
Another complaint often heard in academic circles is about how teachers, especially in affiliated colleges, shirk research after securing a faculty position. According to former vice-chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) Kuncheria P Isaac, though teachers want to pursue top quality research, the system does not demand that sort of excellence from them.
“Most college teachers are concerned only about their time-bound promotion. Securing a PhD degree alone is not what is expected of them. They have to carry out research, publish papers in reputed journals and do consultancy service besides their teaching duty. However, only a few teachers do justice to these tasks,” Isaac said.
However, Padmanabhan dismisses it as a general misconception about college teachers. “Since securing PhD and publishing papers are key factors affecting their promotion, a large number of teachers are actively engaged in these activities. Due to lack of proper institutional support, teachers are juggling both their teaching and research roles simultaneously with much difficulty,” he said. Academics point out that excessive focus on quantity of research has led to compromise in quality.
Plagiarised PhD theses, meaningless seminars and growth of predatory journals that publish mediocre and worthless papers in exchange for money have become the bane of the higher education sector, they say.
(Series concludes)
In the concluding part of the series, TNIE examines if teachers have adopted a lackadaisical attitude towards their roles beyond classrooms. Will the evolution of a foolproof system to evaluate teachers by the institution, peers & students improve the situation?
