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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Clear up the unwanted mess
Cost forces US teens to delay or skip college
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Clear up the unwanted mess The latest revelation of a highly organised and extremely corrupt mafia selling off seats in the most prestigious and professional institutions in the fields of medicine and management sends shivers in the spine. That these are just the tip of the iceberg goes without saying. Given such a frail system, haunted by scandals every now and then, ruled by hooligans rather than regulations, where flaunting of rules fetches more fame than following them, how can we expect to counter the immense competition posed by foreign universities making abode right in front of us? Institutions of higher learning in the country have now started feeling the heat of privatisation. In the relatively unprotected economy, institutions are being instructed to fend for themselves and face the market, both domestic and global. The most pertinent question is: Having been aptly sensitised about this tightrope walking, do we feel actually concerned about the ill-equipped system of higher education, of which we are part either as teachers or students? And if we do, are we trying to equip ourselves so that we are able to ride the tide? All our efforts shall be futile unless the state of higher education becomes the concern not only of those making policies but a concern shared by the two major players, the teachers and students. Governments can rule societies by using means within the law, but they can’t extract quality work from the people by the use of force. In this scenario, when orders come from above, these are usually received with disdain, disapproval and are often handled by fraudulent means. The numerous causes for the sorry state of affairs not withstanding, it is meaningful to look at the role being played by teachers and students in this context. As teachers in the institutions of higher learning, how concerned are we about the pathetic state of affairs as far as the quality of higher education is concerned? While we tend to be overzealous towards advancement in our own careers, are we equally bothered about what happens to the institution or the students? While it is ideal to strike a balance between teaching and research because knowledge can’t advance in absence of either of the two, it is the extension work, publications, networking and conferences that consume most of the time and energy of the faculty because teaching hardly fetches any promotional rewards. Consequently, teaching merely remains a formality, taking a back seat. In this scenario, do the teachers bother about the quality of knowledge being imparted by them to GenNext? While we keep asking for more and more autonomy for ourselves, we join together to oppose any kind of accountability demanded from us. How open are we either to our colleagues or to students as far as teaching is concerned? The truth is that we lie in our self-insulated shells, having negotiated among ourselves a policy of non-interference. I am extremely conscious of the teachers who do an excellent job, as a matter of habit, driven by social conscience. But the question is: How many of these sensitive teachers play a constructive role in the process of decision making, with the objective of saving the system? As a group, how often do we condemn teachers who are dishonest and callous towards their work and how often do we reward our colleagues who take their profession religiously? The quality of higher education has declined right in front of our eyes and we have just let it happen, silently watching it, often pretending as if we are out of all this. Generally, it is assumed that the main aim of higher education is to equip the young boys and girls with certain skills or qualification or training so as to enable them to pursue a career in life and settle down. But, how many students enroll themselves in colleges and universities with this objective? Most of them do not meet the expenses of their education out of their own pockets, and hence its cost does not pinch them. As a result, when classes are not held regularly or are bunked by them, it suits them; when somebody tries to use them politically, they offer themselves readily. How many of them really feel agitated at the irresponsible behaviour of their fellow students? How many of them compel their teachers to be on their toes with their inquisitive queries? The quality in higher education can be maintained only by striking a balance between quality students and teachers. Both teachers and students must realise the fact that they just cannot afford to be so apathetic towards the whole issue. Today’s teachers have already lost the age-old reverence that had always come with the profession and now they have to justify their indispensability in the market like everybody else. For students, their world today consists not merely of immediate surroundings but it extends infinitely, with a cut-throat competition for which they need to be equipped rigorously. The sooner we realise, the better it would be—both for us and society. The question no longer concerns quality of higher education, more importantly, what is in danger is its indispensability. And this at least must concern all of us. The writer is Professor and Chairperson, Department of Sociology, Panjab University, Chandigarh
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Cost forces US teens to delay or skip college MORE than a third of US teenagers would consider delaying or skipping college, an increase from last year, because of the high costs, according to a new study. It showed that while more teens think a college degree is needed to get ahead than adults did when they were adolescents, fewer believe they can afford to continue their education. “This is very concerning,” said Stuart Rubinstein, of investment firm TD Ameritrade Corp., which conducted the poll. “A college degree is really necessary these days for someone who is on a path to have a good career and life-time earning potential.” While higher education costs have grown, so has unemployment among teenagers. US jobless figures reached 9.6 per cent in September, but 26 per cent of teenagers aged 16 to 19 were unemployed, government data showed. Teens are competing with adults who have turned to retail and fast food jobs after losing other positions, Rubinstein explained. About 79 per cent of teens see a degree as critical for their future success, down from 84 per cent a year ago, but up sharply from 57 per cent of adults who saw it as essential when they were teens. But 36 per cent of the teenagers said they would consider delaying or not going to college at all because of the expense involved, up from 31 per cent a year ago. But mounting costs are driving teens to save more of their money for college than adults did at their age. Two-thirds of teens said they were saving to pay for all or part of their higher education. With the hurdles high, teens are split on whether going to a big name school is worth the extra money, the survey showed. About 41 per cent of adults and 35 per cent of teens said a school like Harvard or Princeton was important, but not necessary to get ahead. Only 17 per cent of teens think going to a top tier school would give them a better chance of finding a job. Nearly 80 per cent said they would like to create a plan to split the costs with their parents, about double the share of adults who tried sharing costs with their parents when they were teens. Getting started was a mystery for more than half of the teenagers. Rubinstein said parents should start talks early with children about their family plan to pay for college educations.
— Reuters
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CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar THE university has introduced health cards for its employees. The employees of the university and their dependents can avail of health care facilities from the campus hospital of the university on the basis of these cards. Dr R.S. Dalal, Senior Medical Officer of the hospital, has urged all the employees to get their health cards issued by October 31. The employees are required to provide information about themselves and their dependents to the heads of their respective departments together with their photographs and those of their dependents for issuance of the health cards. The hospital will continue to provide medical care facilities on the basis of ration cards of employees till the end of this month after which only the health cards will be accepted.
Advisory for farmers
Dr R.P. Narwal, Director of Research, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), has urged farmers to sow varieties of wheat best suited to their areas and resources and to raise crops scientifically to increase yield. Dr Narwal said in the less irrigated areas, C-306, WH-147 and WH-1025 varieties of wheat should be sown between the last week of October and the first week of November. To get higher yields of wheat, WH-283, WH-416, WH-542, WH-711, PBW-550 and DBW-17 varieties should be sown in the irrigated and relatively fertile area from November 1 to 25. WH-896 and WH-912 varieties of wheat could be sown in both the areas by mid November. For late sowing, he has recommended WH-1021, RAJ-3765 and PBW-373 varieties of wheat, which could be sown from November 26 to December 25. For Saline and Alkaline land, WH-157 variety of wheat has been recommended. He said the quantity of seeds would depend upon fatness of grains. In the case of fat grain seeds like WH-283, WH-896 and WH-912, the quantity of seed to be sown should be upped by 25 per cent of normal. Before sowing, wheat seeds should be properly treated.
Presentation on rabies control
Dr Sudhi Ranjan Garg, Professor and Head, Department of Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology, CCSHAU, was a featured speaker in a webinar organised on World Rabies Day. Dr Garg delivered a presentation on "Rabies Control in India—Challenges and Strategies". The webinar was hosted by the Alliance for Rabies Control and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (USA). He was the only scientist from India to participate in the webinar, which was conducted from Manhattan on the website worldrabiesday.org.
Sewage treatment plant
The university will install its own sewage treatment plant on the campus. The plant with capacity of 2.5 million litres per day would be set up at its research farm. Dr S.S. Dahiya, Registrar, said the sewage treatment plant would be designed on the Moving Bed Biological Reactor (MBBR) technology to avoid environmental pollution. At present, the sewage effluent of the campus is being treated in oxidation ponds. However, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board does not approve of this process as water treated through oxidation ponds is not considered fit to be discharged in the open.He said the treated water from the plant would be used in farm forestry while solid waste as manure in forage crops. Guru Jambheshwar University of
Science and Technology, Hisar One thousand units of blood were collected at a state-level blood donation camp organised by the NSS unit of Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology recently. The camp was inaugurated by S.S. Sangwan, Vice-Chancellor, Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences,
Rohtak. — Contributed by Raman Mohan
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ALL of a sudden, we seem to be too much worried about the existing state of higher education in the country. There have been serious concerns expressed at various fora regarding the declining standards of higher education. Today, our colleges and universities are hardly equipping students with marketable skills. Only a small proportion among the students, from affluent urban background, is capable of making a choice for institutions offering quality education.