15% Presidency teachers below par

Updated on: Thursday, December 29, 2011

An internal assessment conducted by Presidency University has found 15% of its teaching staff below par. Among them are both veterans and young teachers with outstanding academic records, but the degrees don't appear to have translated into classroom success. The university, which the state government wants to turn into a centre of excellence, may eventually ask these teachers to take a transfer to other government colleges.

The assessment, conducted by vice-chancellor Malabika Sarkar with the help of senior academics helping the university in its "turnaround" , rated teachers' performance on various parameters (see box). Around 15% were found to lack interest in teaching and had little or no contact with students. Presidency has around 100 teaching staff out of over 200 sanctioned posts. "I was extremely happy to find that a majority of teachers are extremely dedicated. So, there will not be any difficulty in retaining them," Sarkar said. "At least 85% teachers come under this category. Unfortunately, there are some who do not take teaching seriously and lack that contact with students, without which no institution can perform. We have identified them. Perhaps, they also know they will not be able to remain with this university . Such teachers will continue as government college teachers and will be transferred elsewhere," the vicechancellor added.

The assessment found that in some cases, veteran teachers on the verge of retirement had developed a lack of interest towards teaching. But surprisingly , some younger teachers were also found to show the same indifference.

Kolkata: Most veteran teachers are found to be the best performers in Presidency University's internal assessment of teaching staff that was conducted recently. "You will be surprised to know that a majority of the veteran teachers have been found to be the fittest, whereas there are many who are young and have excellent academic track records, but have been found to be negligent towards teaching duties" said vice-chancellor Malabika Sarkar. The assessment, in fact, complimented this 85% on being "excellent teachers" and "working immensely hard" to take Presidency to new heights.

The survey also allayed fears among the existing faculty that many of them would be asked to leave as the university pursued the path of excellence.

A consent form for faculty members from the state higher education department was sent to the university on December 23. Teachers will have to indicate on it whether they wish to continue with the institution or seek a transfer elsewhere. The forms will be distributed among teachers on January 2 when the university re-opens after the winter break. Once this is done, a screening committee comprising academics and the V-C will go through the credentials of each candidate. It is at this time that this internal assessment, which will be supported by performance data, will be considered. Only when a faculty opts out of the institution or takes a transfer will the position immediately be advertised.

About 50% of the institution's faculty positions are lying vacant and vacancies for these positions will be advertised by the end of January . "While outsiders will apply, those faculty members who wish to get an upgrade will also be free to apply ," Sarkar said. Advertisements will also be released for 140 additional teaching positions the state government has recently sanctioned. "The way things are, we expect a healthy mix of existing teachers and those coming from outside by April," Sarkar said.

Times of India

15% Presidency teachers below par

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