UGC move on contract appointments retrograde
V.P. Prabhakar
WHILE some feel that the proposal of the University Grants Commission on contractual appointments in universities and colleges will create uncertainty in the higher educational institutions, others think that the move is based on dishonest justification in the name of merit and efficiency.

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UGC move on contract appointments retrograde
V.P. Prabhakar

WHILE some feel that the proposal of the University Grants Commission on contractual appointments in universities and colleges will create uncertainty in the higher educational institutions, others think that the move is based on dishonest justification in the name of merit and efficiency.

Still others are of the view that the malaise in the institutions is because of political interference. There is also thinking that the central and state governments are trying to withdraw themselves from higher institutions by starving them of funds.

These views were gathered from teachers of Panjab University, Himachal Pradesh University and Punjabi University.

Today, higher education in India is facing a paradoxical situation as the system is slow to respond to the societal requirements and global changes. Prof Yoginder Verma, Director of the Institute of Integrated Himalayan Studies, Himachal Pradesh University, says one of the reasons attributed for slow development and low quality of education is the absence of accountability on the part of decision-makers and teachers.

He says the exercise undertaken by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council of universities and colleges will bear fruit only when quality at the individual level, starting from vice-chancellors/principals to teachers, is insisted upon. For this the UGC should develop certain parameters for determining the accountability index. This also needs a national debate.

Otherwise, this step taken in haste may lead to frustration and sense of insecurity among the intelligentsia.

Any careful retrospection, according to Dr Satya P. Gautam, professor of Philosophy, Syndic and Fellow, Panjab University, shows that academician, politicians and bureaucrats love to engage in futile search for quick magical cures, instead of looking hard at reality. The Ambani-Birla report on Educational Reforms is no exception.

Dr Gautam feels the substantial issue of gradual deterioration in quality of teaching and research over the past three decades cannot even be touched by introducing the system of contractual appointments. The fact of the matter is that opaque modes of selections for recruitment and promotions have often been used to keep the meritorious out of the bounds of institutions unless one is a protege of the powerful and privileged.

Those who do manage to enter somehow or the other, do not have easy or convenient access to the facilities and environment necessary for good academic work.

Entry to colleges and universities, for students as well as teachers, should be exclusively based on transparent and genuine academic merit and merit alone. For this, we need to learn that is not scores grades in terminal examinations or entrance tests but academic skills and aptitude that matter.

Dr Gautam says that continuous assessment of Students as well as teachers, assessment which is fair and credible, is essential for bringing quality to higher education.

Dr K.C. Singhal, Professor, Management Studies, Punjabi University, feels while accepting the Ambani-Birla report, the UGC did not go into the objective conditions specific to our country. In the West, from where the concept has been borrowed, opportunities are more than in our country. Even there the contractual appointments are only at the entry level, that is at the level of Assistant Professors. Thereafter, the appointments are made on a regular basis.

Accountability and performance of teachers in India, he says, is linked to the overall system. This sector should not be isolated and it has to be seen in the overall context of general environment.

Referring to the growing indiscipline and falling standards of education, Dr Singhal says the teachers alone should not be held responsible for this state of affairs. This is primarily because of the undesirable and external influences being exerted on these institutions by political parties, businessmen, bureaucrats and central and state governments.

He feels the main reason for the malaise is that government bodies and management of colleges and universities interfere in the day-to-day functioning. Member of these bodies are not professionals and are not committed anyway for the improvement of the functioning. The vice-chancellors, particularly in various states are handpicked without any look at their academic achievements.

Dr S.L. Kaushik, Professor, Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, says any contract system can be successful in an economy where the rate of employment is high. In developing country like India such a system may not be successful as the rate of unemployment is very high and the people have the tendency to stick to their jobs.

This system has almost failed in the United Kingdom. Moreover, people on contract basis do not have a sense of belonging to the organisation and they lack commitment as they are ever on the lookout for a better package job.

“I am afraid that the contractual system, if introduced, is likely to disturb the socio-economic fibre of the society. Family as an institution is likely to suffer the most.”

Instead of the contract system, Dr Kaushik feels a tenure system may be introduced, whereby a person may move from one organisation to another for a fixed period and after finishing the tenure, may come back to his parent organisation. It may help create a sense of urgency for more effectiveness.

Mr M.M. Sharma, Fellow of Panjab University and former President of PUTA, says that the proposal is to privatise higher education and the agenda of the IMF and the World Bank on economic reforms, including education. If is an outcome of the compunction of market economy.

Dr Mrs Manju Lohumi, Reader, ICDEOL, Himachal Pradesh University, says although this system is already introduced in other fields, it is a ‘dangerously bold’ step at the university level which has all portends of vitiating the academic atmosphere.

She feels that the UGC should embark on more progressive ideas like all-India services for colleges and university teachers, work out a credible system for objective assessment to judge the performance of teachers, introduce an exam system for promotions on the pattern of the Army and give more autonomy to universities to evolve their own patterns.

Moreover, she feels, that the move of the UGC runs contradictory to the idea of having more deemed universities and autonomous colleges.

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Lesson in English
W. L. Gordon

Words often misused:

Unsanitary and insanitary are interchangeable, and most authorities do not indicate a preference. However, unsanitary is more frequently heard.

Often mispronounced:

Burlesque. Accent the second syllable, not the first.

Often misspelled:

Frontispiece - observe the “tis.”

Synonyms:

Record (noun) - account, chronicle, document, register, memorandum, roll, index, enumeration, inventory, archive, history.

Word study:

“Use a word three times and it is yours.” Let us increase our vocabulary by mastering one word each week.

Today’s word: Redoubtable (adjective) - formidable, inspiring fear, valiant. Pronounce as ree-dowt-a-b’l with redoubtable with accent on second syllable.

E.g. “He is a redoubtable champion of these principles”