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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Set new norms for teachers
Indian helps community excel
PU News
Campus
Notes
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Set new norms for teachers
WILL the higher or say hefty pay scales that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has recommended, as a customary follow-up to the Sixth Pay Commission’s report, for college and varsity teachers attract quality professionals to join our murky education system? Or would it bring a change in the deeply rooted ‘no-working’ attitude of the existing ones? No, not at all.
In order to elucidate my use of the expression ‘no-working’, I refer here, in particular, to the recent refusal, by a group of college teachers of Haryana, to conduct some survey that they were asked to do by the government. One does hope that their surveys conducted during writing their Ph.D thesis or projects were not imaginary ones! No wonder that the college and university teaching is often stated to be one of the best professions for women in particular. Obviously, the comment refers to a flexible and short working hours that further are crowned by hordes of holidays (excluding ‘dharna’ and ‘hartal’ days that too have become, of late, a routine part of the educational curriculum) and a handsome salary to pocket! But no, all do not think alike. There was this young lady, who got selected meritoriously as a permanent lecturer for a Chandigarh Government College by the Union Public Service Commission, New Delhi. She delightfully discarded the position, soon after she had joined the college. She gave up this well paid, light and non-transferable job in favour of a 9-to-5 position that a nearby State Civil Service offered her on much lower emoluments than that of a lecturer! In fact, given a chance none of the highly educated people who often have a doctoral degree, university or college lecturer would ever refuse to join on a Deputy Commissioner’s post that ‘requires’ a comparatively low educational qualification and is initially given a low pay packet! Thus, it would simply be imprudent to assume that higher emoluments would bring in quality teachers or would inspire the existing ones to give their best performances. Then, what else one can expect from a body like the UGC which has been giving an unnecessary emphasis upon doctoral degrees for teachers that have a little or no relevance to the teaching faculty of a person. Strangely, the UGC has never found it necessary for a college or university teacher to have good communication skills and a systematic knowledge of pedagogic norms, which are considered compulsary even for those schoolteachers who get into teaching nursery classes. It is high time that the UGC, which has lost its relevance since long, is revamped. The very first action in this regard should be to divest it from being a recommending body for devising pay structures. One fails to understand that why can’t different slots of teachers equated, once for all, with that of babus at various levels? This would not only help in bringing a much-required uniformity in pay scales but also end all the skirmishes that arise after every recommended pay hikes. But then, who bothers about the ill-health of our education system, or for that matter, any system. Take for instance the recent recommendations, and their super fast implementation, that the Sixth Pay Commission had made. The government’s failure to implement the Commission’s sane recommendation to put a halt on hordes of holidays clearly shows its single-minded, focused agenda—votes. Providing for good governance or say good education is not on its priority list. Since all ‘sarkars’ currently have a one-point election agenda weighing heavy on their petty minds, let us pray for the good health of our sick education system. For, it would perhaps be better to look towards God than governments, even if one is an agnostic, for some miraculous improvements in our badly-bogged education system that requires today, as the filmi cliché goes, ‘dua’(prayer) more than ‘dava’ (medicine)!
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A second-generation Malaysian Indian entrepreneur has established a network to help ethnic Indians in the country achieve excellence and success through education.
Academician Siva Kumar Balasundram and his colleagues have set up the network — TheMind — for ethnic Indians, who are estimated to number 2.6 million and form eight percent of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic population of 28 million. TheMind (Malaysian Indian Educational Development) Association, is an organisation of high academic achievers. Indians often complain of lack of adequate job and education opportunities. One of the consequences has been the emergence of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), which has been banned and its five leaders jailed after they staged a protest rally to demand more opportunities. Balasundram and his colleagues had to struggle to achieve high academic status and believe that other Indians too can achieve similar success in education with the right help, encouragement and motivation. “We believe educational attainment is the one sure path for Malaysian Indians to advancement in life and success,” Balasundaram, 37, a senior lecturer at UPM and a specialist on precision agriculture, was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper recently. The core group of 20 high achievers, headed by Vinod Sekhar, organises opportunity seminars, motivation forums and courses for Indians. They also organise sessions with rural Indian youth to place them in training institutes after they have completed their schooling. TheMind has also set up an e-mail network of over 50,000 individuals who act as initiators or helpers, offering advice, job vacancies and other pointers to needy individuals — for instance, where to get loans, scholarships and jobs. “It is like a help-line and it’s growing in size,” said association vice-president Ganesan Vadamalai, 36, an agricultural scientist, referring to TheMind Bulletin Board. In 2005, the group organised the 9th Malaysia Plan — Voices of the Grassroots, a joint programme with ERA Consumer that was supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the European Union. In 2007, they organised the National Indian Youth Convention, which attracted widespread attention from Indian youths, teachers, professionals and business people hungry to develop themselves, network and succeed in life. Among the speakers at this convention was Petra Group founder president and CEO Vinod Sekhar, whose late father B. C. Sekhar was a renowned rubber specialist. A one-day seminar in Kulim in April this year saw TheMind enthusiasts like Ganesan Vadamalai coming face-to-face with the myriad problems Indian youths face — poverty, low skills, low academic achievements, lack of scholarships and being sidelined from mainstream development. “They were in the low information group, and did not have adequate information on how to seize the opportunities and advance themselves,” Vadamalai said, adding that 15 youths who had completed their schooling and were about to enter the job market as low-skilled employees were persuaded to study new skills at vocational institutes. “They can get much higher wages with higher skills,” he said, adding that TheMind intended to conduct more forums to place Indian youths in skills training centres. “We want to make this a permanent feature of our activities because Indian enrolment in skills institutes is low.” TheMind is a registered organisation and entirely voluntary.
— IANS
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PU News
Panjab University has achieved yet another milestone, with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, granting it the status of “Centre of Excellence for Science and Technology”. Along with the status, comes a grant of R 10 crore per year for a period of next three years for the purpose of developing its Research and Design (R and D).
The status has now put the university in the league of top universities and it is the third university to have attained the status after Delhi University and Hyderabad University. Professor T. Ramasami, secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, announced the same after the inauguration of computerisation of the university system recently. With the special grant, the university will be independent in deciding the utilisation of this money to promote R&D in Science & Technology. An elated Professor R. C. Sobti, Vice-Chancellor, reacting on the announcement, said, “This comes as a recognition for our efforts and hard work. We have been selected among 14 universities. The university has got a free hand to spend this money on research and development projects. This can be spent on strengthening infrastructure that would not include construction of building.” It is pertinent to mention here that the special grant money is only to be spent on carrying out research and other such purposes and cannot be utilised to set up any building or infrastructure.
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Campus Notes
Accounts and Administrative Officers (AAOs) of HAU face the prospects of paying back excess pay they had withdrawn over the past five years. The university has more than 10 AAOs attached to various departments. Many of those who will have to repay the excess salary have since retired. AAOs are appointed by promoting Superintendents. On promotion they are given a pay scale that begins at Rs 8,000 instead of Rs 6,500 for Superintendents.
A few years ago, the university raised their pay scale to Rs 10,000 citing a Haryana government communication. Later, the auditors raised objections and the matter was referred to the government. Incidentally, AAOs in other universities of the state are drawing the pay scale of Rs 8,000. HAU represented to the government at least four times but the plea was rejected on all occasions and the government emphatically stated that the pay scale of Rs 10,000 could only be given to Assistant Registrars. The matter now rests with the Comptroller of the university. Registrar R. S. Dalal says the recovery was imperative in view of the government directive. He says the AAOs had been promoted subject to the condition that they would refund the excess salary in case the government turned down the request for a higher salary. Revised norms for non-teaching staff
Haryana Agricultural University has decided to revise educational qualifications for direct recruitment to non-teaching posts to attract competent persons with the right skills. Registrar R. S. Dalal says the employees need to be well conversant with all rules and procedures to discharge their duty properly. He says problems arise in management when officers and other staff are assigned new responsibilities. But due to lack of knowledge of procedures, they have to depend on the subordinate staff and endorse their comments without proper application of mind. Dalal also says the process of centralisation of pay was underway in the university. This step, he says is being taken in view of declining strength of existing ministerial staff due to retirements and ban on new recruitments. — Contributed by Raman Mohan
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Admission Deadline
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