For an efficient education system

Updated on: Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The indirect grading is no grading at all. It is only conversion of marks into grades. It has all the weaknesses of awarding marks.

Grading is a superior system in as much as it groups the students in categories, rather than determining the exact position in a scale, which is a very difficult and sometimes irrational exercise in most disciplines. Grading could also iron out the disparities in academic measurement brought about by the differing nature of presentations in different disciplines.

The State government is yet to appoint teachers in colleges so that existing sanctioned vacancies get filled. Without this how can a credit and semester system (CSS) work?

The filling up of all vacancies is necessary not only in the context of the CSS, but for the general efficiency of the system. The HEC has tried to impress upon the government the need to take urgent steps in this matter as a necessary condition for the success of any reform of the system. We had several rounds of discussion with the Finance Minister and the Education Minister. The government appreciates our view point and has accepted our suggestion in principle. As a consequence the government has already sanctioned the appointment of about 1,000 teachers.

However, teachers for the courses sanctioned during 1998 to 2001 are yet to be appointed. Steps are on to achieve it. Currently workshops are being conducted to determine the number of teachers required for these courses. This exercise would be over this week. Hopefully appointments would soon follow.

Though the regulations speak of committees at various levels to tackle student grievances, there is no mention anywhere of any penal action against a teacher who is found to have willfully engaged in harassment in the name of CE?

The present experience is not of victimisation but of overindulgence. The tendency appears to be to award near maximum marks to almost all students, regardless of their academic performance. However, there is possibility of victimisation in internal evaluation which should be reckoned with.

Apart from a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism, which the HEC has suggested, the real remedy is to make the evaluation transparent. The students should also have access to the answer book after the evaluation. As far as penal action is concerned each institution should evolve its own methods of control for violation of professional ethics.

Did the HEC “rush” the degree restructuring programme through the teaching community with little training, particularly for preparing question papers and for evaluating answer scripts under the new system?

There is considerable misinformation on this count. The HEC had started discussions, consultations and orientation programmes from April 2007. The scheme was discussed twice with teachers’ and students’ organisations, with Principals’ Council and representatives of Managements’ Association. The discussions were held with the non-teaching staff as well. About 150 workshops were conducted in different parts of the State with experts drawn from both within the State and outside. A large number of the teaching community was thus drawn into the preparation, which was a massive effort, unmatched in any other part of the country in matters of educational reform. Apart from this the report on restructuring the undergraduate system and all minutes and discussion notes regarding that were also published on the HEC web site.

The hindu

For an efficient education system

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