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Evaluating performance
Drug-testing for students ‘inevitable’
Teachers get teaching tips Campus Notes
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Evaluating performance PERFORMANCE evaluation is a necessary component of any system. The evaluation of students has been considered to play a pivotal role in the education system. However, it is also considered to be a major cause of pressure among students. There are mainly two schemes of performance evaluation prevalent in the education system—in-house examination, where schools have full control over the evaluation process, and board examination, i.e., centralised examination conducted by an education board. Both the practices have their own importance and usefulness. A critical observation of the education system indicates that the in-house examination is quite convenient form of evaluation and can be considered useful for primary and junior classes. However, Class X onwards, the board examination seems to be necessary for these classes, as the performance evaluation of these classes plays an important role in the career of students. Primary education helps prepare a sound base of students for subsequent education. From evaluation viewpoint, the result of these classes is not much significant. The in-house examination for these classes in the present form is the best possible option. Even it is better to encourage the students towards education by avoiding failure in initial classes. However, the government’s ruling providing immunity against failure in any class in primary education seems to have adverse effect on both the students and teachers, particularly in government schools. The reason being, the parents of majority of students studying in government schools belong to the lower economic and educational strata. They have less inclination for their children to pursue higher education. Accordingly, as per human tendency, most of them feel relaxed because of immunity from failure in primary education, and do not pay attention towards the studies of their children. On the other hand, the teachers are also less concerned about their role in primary education, considering that all the students will be passed, even without a proper teaching-learning process. Immunity against failure in examination is essentially desirable for young children so as not to discourage them for pursuing education. However, this policy needs to be reviewed considering its above-mentioned adverse effects. To maintain the interest of students and teachers in studies and teaching, respectively, it would be better to curtail the level of immunity. The immunity against failure in examination can be usefully provided to the students of Class I and Class II, but they should be encouraged to prepare sincerely for examination from Class III onwards. With a proper teaching scheme, there would not be any possibility of pressure of examination on sincere students. Our society is divided on the basis of caste, creed, religion, region, language, and social status. In general, the teachers do get affected from these feelings, which sometimes reflect in the in-house evaluation of students. In addition, chances of favouritism due to students being related to school and district authorities and a few other influential ones are in general unavoidable. Favouritism by teachers to the students taking separate paid coaching from them is also quite possible. Other forms of malpractices in the evaluation process can also not be ruled out. In general, the poor but sincere and hard working students are likely to suffer in in-house examinations. The sincere students who cannot afford to attend separate coaching, and do not have support from any corner, have hopes for genuine evaluation only through an outside agency. Also, a few teachers may not be sufficiently experienced to handle such an important evaluation process. The only remedy to such a practice is board examination, where the chances of influencing the evaluation are very rare, and the teachers of the school concerned have no significant role to play. The board examination not only evaluates students, but also evaluates the performance of teachers and schools. It is surprising that some experts expect reduction of pressure of examination on students if the evaluation is made through in-house examination by scrapping the board examination. But, how is it going to reduce the pressure, when the subjects and the syllabus contents remain the same? On the other hand, a student can pass an examination just by securing as less marks as 33-40 per cent. By attempting student-friendly question papers bearing sufficient choice, the pressure of board examination on students seem to be insignificant. In fact, the pressure of examination has nothing to do with the pattern of evaluation; it is related to the sincerity in studies preparedness for examination. Also, the education system should not compromise with quality at any cost. The stamp of quality can be obtained by an impartial evaluation only through the board examination. The education system should display robustness by reducing the possibility of manipulation. Making the board examination optional for Class X may lead to an unhealthy evaluation of students as discussed above. As this matter is related to the career of students, it should be given serious thought once again. Development of a sound education system is very important for the growth of a society. For the education system to function satisfactorily, continuous monitoring and corrective measures are very important. Thus, the above-mentioned suggestions can be quite useful, and deserve consideration.
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Drug-testing for students ‘inevitable’ THE spectre of students queuing to provide urine samples before sitting exams is raised by a scientist who says “academic doping” is likely “smart drugs” that are claimed to boost academic performance have proliferated in recent years, making the introduction of routine drug-testing for students inevitable, according to Vince Cakic, a psychologist at the University of Sydney in Australia. Other drugs with potential as “brain boosters” include modafinil (Provigil), a stimulant prescribed for the sleep disorder narcolepsy, donepezil (Aricept), prescribed for Alzheimer’s disease to improve memory, and selegiline (Eldepryl), prescribed for Parkinson’s disease to increase motivation. One in four students at some US universities are reported to have taken stimulants, particularly in colleges with more competitive admissions criteria, Mr Cakic said. Anecdotal reports suggest their use has spread to Britain. Writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, he said the spread of academic doping posed challenges for society. Banning the drugs would be almost impossible, leaving the option of testing students in the same way that elite athletes are tested, but despite the ban on drugs in sport, 95 per cent of elite athletes are said to have used them. “It is apparent that the failures and inconsistencies inherent in anti-doping policy in sport will be mirrored in academia unless a reasonable and realistic approach to the issue of (brain-boosting drugs) is adopted,” he wrote. “As laughable as it may seem, it is possible that scenarios (such as urine testing) could very well come to fruition in the future. Given that the benefits of (the drugs) could also be derived during periods of study at any time leading up to the examinations, this would require drug testing during non-exam periods.” But Mr Cakic said it was not clear that using drugs was necessarily wrong. Arguing that they should be banned because they confer an unfair advantage is like suggesting that private tuition should be banned because it favours those who can afford it. Professor John Harris, the director of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University of Manchester, and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics, agrees. He defended the use of smart drugs on the grounds that it was “not rational to be against human enhancement”. In the British Medical Journal in June, he said that the use of cognitive enhancing drugs should be seen as a natural extension of the education process. He said drug regulatory agencies should assess the benefits and risks as they would any other medical intervention. But the long-term safety of the drugs is unknown. In the US, Ritalin carries the most serious warning because of its high potential for abuse, serious risks to the heart and chance of sudden death. Caffeine, by contrast, carries no warnings and enhances sporting and academic performance. But this form of “cheating” was tolerated because it was relatively harmless, Mr Cakic said. — By arrangement with
The Independent
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The Academic Staff College (ASC), Panjab University, Chandigarh, conducted three in-service training programmes for college and university lecturers recently. With these three courses, the number of lecturers who have undergone training from ASC has reached 9,123. Its four-week-long orientation programme for newly inducted teaching professionals was based on the theme “Rethinking Progressive Pedagogy”. The participants were apprised of their significant role in society and were given intensive training on developing teaching skills to prepare them for the challenges of pedagogy in contemporary times. The methodology adopted during the course included a variety of approaches both traditional and futuristic. The interdisciplinary “Refresher Course in Information Technology”, which was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science and Applications, Panjab University, was meant for middle-level teaching professionals to update them regarding the latest computer technology relevant in the classroom teaching. Another three-week training course on the theme “Emerging Issues, Challenges and Prospects in an uncertain Global Business Environment” was held in the University Business School. Lecturers from the disciplines of commerce, economics and business management attended this programme. During these programmes, the participants actively participated in the management of the training courses, thus learning the approach of self-management. A total number of 73 participants also visited different educational institutes for getting in-field exposure. — TNS
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Campus Notes A two-day Farm Darshan Mela concluded on the Haryana Agricultural University campus recently. More than 30,000 farmers from Haryana and the adjoining areas of Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi participated. They were demonstrated cost-cutting farming techniques at the research farm of the university. Visiting farmers purchased seeds worth Rs 35 lakh for the ensuing rabi season crops. Addressing the farmers, the Vice-Chancellor, Dr K. S. Khokhar, asked them to adopt newer techniques in crop and livestock production and take advantage of the opportunities arising from globalisation by producing good quality products. He also urged them to diversify and to use water-saving techniques like laser land leveling, drip irrigation, bio-pesticides and integrated pests and nutrient management. He asked farmers bodies to motivate farmers to keep record of the income and expenditure of each crop to help the government fix the right minimum sport price (MSP). Apart from seeds, farmers also purchased bio-fertilisers and farm literature produced by the university. They also got their water and soil samples tested on the spot.
Agro officers' workshop
A two-day Agricultural Officers' workshop was held on the university campus recently. Speaking on the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor stressed the need for minimising post-harvest losses of farm produce and diminishing the yield gaps existing in the productivity of the crops. He said having benefited from the first Green Revolution, Indian agriculture was now facing the second-generation problems of declining soil fertility and water table resulting in low productivity or stagnation in productivity of crops. Changes in temperature were posing yet another serious challenge, for which scientists should come out with viable early solutions by developing heat and drought resistant varieties of crops, he added. In his presidential address, Financial Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Haryana, Roshan Lal, urged scientists to develop heat-tolerant, high yielding, disease-resistant and early maturing varieties of cereals and pulse crops.
Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar Major General K.S. Bajwa (retd ) while addressing the participants of the Second Orientation Programme organised by the Academic Staff College of Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology said we should draw lessons from history to inculcate nationalism and integrity. He said India could top the world provided its citizens learnt virtues of nationalism, patriotism and brotherhood, adding that the nation could become a super power only through the values enshrined in its ancient culture. He appealed to teachers to help inculcate feelings of nationalism and patriotism into students, which in turn would help students to become responsible citizens. —
Contributed by Raman Mohan
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Ritalin, a stimulant drug best known as a treatment for hyperactive children, has also found a market among students, especially in the US, who are desperate to succeed and are turning to it in preference to traditional stimulants such as coffee and cigarettes. Users say it helps them to focus and concentrate and this has been confirmed in research studies on adults.