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Sunday,
December 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India   
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DEBATE: TEACHERS ON
CONTRACT
UGC
proposal worries university teachers |
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Regaining
the lost prestige
Harihar Swarup
India’s
hard talk on Pakistan
Humra Quraishi
Time to
treat war like disease
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DEBATE: TEACHERS ON CONTRACT Many of our educationists and public men... have not fully realised how serious are the actual conditions, academic and physical, that obtain in the colleges and universities. Even those who are broadly aware of the situation, fail to notice its poignancy because they have become used to such conditions. — Education Commission 1964-66
The University Grants Commission (UGC) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1956. The Act calls upon the UGC “to take... such steps as it may think fit for the promotion and coordination of the university education” and empowers it to recommend to universities “the measures necessary action in that regard”. The UGC does not represent “the entire spectrum of higher education”. Agriculture, engineering and technology, medicine, and professional education do not fall within its purview. This fragmentation has prevented the system from growing into a unified structure and becoming an effective instrument of national development. The two university education commissions set up in the post-independence period, the Radhakrishan Commission (1948-49) and the Kothari Commission (1964-66), were concerned about this inherent weakness of the system and recommended gradual integration of all higher education into a single whole for the system to serve the interests of the nation better. A quick survey of the UGC’s initiatives and innovations since its inception shows that it has never tried to address itself to any systemic reform but has acted only when a malady in the system cried out for a solution For a long time it has been known to the UGC that every successive increase in the emoluments of the teachers unaccompanied by complementary reforms, led to a perceptible decline in the teacher productivity and there are now no world-class departments in any discipline or teachers who can act as the pace-setters. Yet the UGC has not changed its mindset and continues to make recommendations in a piecemeal, ad hoc manner. Its recent recommendation that teachers in colleges and universities be recruited on a contract basis falls in this category. Per se, the proposal cannot be faulted even though it may be suspect in some eyes because it comes at a time when the country is adopting the practices of other countries in the wake of globalisation. Experience shows that contract appointments enhance productivity by injecting an element of accountability in an employee’s conduct. It is a standing practice in many educationally advanced countries, notably Europe and North America, and is being increasingly adopted by communities that attach more value to merit and integrity than patronage. Japan is a good example of the latter. But the moot point is, can it take root in a system in which every appointment and promotion is an act of manipulation and no effort has been made to develop any mechanism which can scientifically measure and maintain surveillance over scholarly work? Ph.D’s can be awarded on such subjects as gatekeeping and unsolicited conference papers accepted as evidence of serious research effort. Security of tenure in our present situation does appear to be a valid explanation for lax conduct on the part of many teachers. Linking security with performance therefore appears to be a step in the right direction. But unless the system recruits the best and the meritorious and provides an environment in which honest work is suitably rewarded, along with necessary facilities, changing conditions of service will only cause avoidable commotion. There is a healthy practice in many western universities to invite representatives of teachers and students to the selection meetings as observers. This ensures transparency and merit-based selections. Some universities also display the bio-data of those recommended for appointment and invite objections before finalising appointments. Linked with this practice is the unwritten rule that with some exceptions those who take an academic degree from a university will not seek a position in the same university. Consequently, there is very little room for inbreeding and abuse of power. If once appointed, a teacher does not come up to the mark, there is a mechanism to get a feedback on him from graduating students through a well-structured confidential questionnaire which is an important input in giving him a life tenure or a quasi-permanent position. Even the valedictory is delivered by a sudden — normally the one ranking highest in the graduating class — who uses the occasion to comment on both the quality of teaching and what is taught, and is regarded by the authorities as a major source of information to judge the worth of a teacher and the relevance of the syllabi. One must ask the planners whether they have given any thought to such alternative ways of achieving quality which may be more practicable. With tin gods sitting at the top and the culture of groupism dominating the managements of academic institutions it is not easy to push through hard reforms. The case for contract appointments is socially weak also. As the service conditions of teachers become less attractive, the system will gradually lose talent to other professions. Already, multinationals are draining many vital sectors of the economy of this critical input. Security of tenure is not the only source of discouragement to sustained hard work and therefore to productivity. Many of our universities and colleges are unable to provide any infrastructure facilities for the development of academic activity. The ambivalent attitude of the government — withdrawing financial support but strengthening its hold — is also contributing a great deal to the weakening of the system. Professor I.G. Patel, who once headed the London School of Economics and Political Science, aptly says: “The management of our universities is controlled too much by government at one end and is too ad hoc and perfunctory at the university level with vice-chancellors coming and going every three or four years and syndicates dominated by politicians and people with no academic credentials. As it is, university appointments and promotions have been largely politicised and bureaucratised with little regard for quality”. Among other factors which are inimical to growth of academic activity is the conception of institutions like universities and colleges as monarchies rather than as republics. Experience shows that the hierarchical concentration of power often “dwarfs the men who serve it” and diverts them “from intellectual concerns into intrigue and conflict over the small administrative and financial prizes afforded by... academic life”. Since the present educational oligarchies stand to lose too much by a wider distribution of power and responsibility, they will not allow such a thing to happen. The losers are naturally the younger teachers who, instead of being provided a congenial atmosphere in which they can enter into a creative dialogue with their senior colleagues , “are soon caught up in the general atmosphere of indifference or cynicism”. The problem of falling standards in the universities and colleges will not be solved by making teachers a scapegoat. There is need to address all the infirmities together. Tinkering with the system can make the situation worse. Of all the institutions in need of rearranging themselves in the face of rapidly changing technology and the outflanking of the nation-state by the forces of globalisation, the need of educational institutions, particularly those catering to general education, is both urgent and imperative. The writer, a former Vice-Chancellor of Patiala’s Punjabi University, is Emeritus Professor of Economics.  |
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No substitute for merit
There seems to be an across-the-board consensus that something is seriously wrong with our universities, colleges and schools. Surely, our educational institutions are suffering from abnormal troubles. This disconcerting fact was well reflected in the editorial
“Testing time for teachers”
(The Tribune, November 12, 2002). However, without proper identification of the wrongs, we cannot rectify them effectively. The issue of falling standards can be understood only when it is analysed in a proper perspective. It is possible to draw a distinction between three levels of formal education. This distinction has been well reflected in the structuring of education at the school, college and the university levels which are inextricably intertwined. First, school students are trained to become proficient in using knowledge and skills available in society. If properly planned and implemented, schools can make the new generation active and responsible members of society. Secondly, college students, opting to pursue various undergraduate courses, are expected to become familiar with the ongoing developments in the frontiers of knowledge and innovation of new skills. And finally, university students are trained to acquire the skills necessary for the creation of new knowledge. This is possible only if the faculty members are themselves actively engaged in this pursuit. The universities contribute towards civilisational development by providing significant solutions to unresolved theoretical and practical problems, new ways of understanding the human condition. However, are our schools, colleges and universities geared to serve these distinctive levels in the system of modern education? Sadly, most of our college teachers are engaged in no more than extending what is being poorly done at the school level. A careful study of various policy prescriptions shows that academics, politicians, bureaucrats and the media have loved to engage, more willingly, in a fantastic rummaging around for quick magical cures than examining the neglect of education for too long. The Ambani-Birla Report on Educational Reforms is no exception. The substantial issue of gradual deterioration in the quality of teaching and research cannot even be touched by introducing the system of contractual appointments. It can in no way help remove complacence amongst the teachers allegedly due to the absolute life-time job security without any accountability. If we cannot prevent recruitment of undeserving, incompetent and dumb faculty because we cannot put an end to favouring our near and dear ones, it is irrelevant whether we
recruitcontract or regular teachers. There is an urgent need to restore the diminishing confidence in the academic credibility and fairness of the selection process. The selection process for appointment and subsequent promotions of university teachers should be made open and transparent by conducting public presentations and discussions in lieu of the mystifying system of closed door interviews. The quality of selections depends upon the quality of selectors. The universities must follow a rigorous selection process to attract the talented and best persons for academic appointments at the initial level. Only such persons who have given visible evidence of having actively engaged in significant and good research work should be appointed as university teachers. In the present scenario, neither the UGC/CSIR NET nor a Ph.D degree are sufficient indicators of a candidate’s ability to participate in the vital task of creation of new knowledge. The grading of the quality of publication and presentations in seminars and conferences can be helpful for developing credible parameters for evaluation of one’s academic work. The present UGC guidelines for appointment and promotions of university and college teachers are based on the assumption as if the pursuit of research work, i.e. creation of new knowledge, begins and ends with the acquisition of a Ph D degree. A doctoral degree, if it is being awarded on the merit of the research work, is only a certification of having successfully completed the preparatory training for acquisition of research skills. Advance research work is expected to be an integral part of any normal academic career in the university system. It would be in fitness of things to formulate proper norms for providing attractive incentives for high quality research work done after obtaining the Ph D degree. This could be done by way of incremental benefits or a reduction in the number of qualifying years for promotions under the Career Advancement Scheme. Opaque modes of selections for recruitment and promotion have often been used to keep the meritorious away from the bounds of our institutions unless one is a protege of the powerful and the privileged in the system. Those who manage to enter, somehow or the other, do not have an easy or convenient access to the facilities and environment necessary for good academic work. And if they are left with no other option but to go abroad to realise their talent, then they have to face the stigma of being unpatriotic, of harming the nation by contributing to the brain drain, having wasted precious scarce resources. Entry to colleges and universities, for students as well as teachers, should be exclusively based on transparent and genuine academic merit alone. For this, it is not the scores/grades in the terminal examinations or entrance tests but academic skills and aptitude that matter. This expects us to look and do things anew. Continuous but fair and credible assessment of students as well as teachers is essential for improving quality in higher education. But are we prepared for this? I am afraid, we seem to prefer quick, easy and ineffective solutions such as contractual appointments. The writer, Professor of Philosophy at Chandigarh’s Panjab University, is the General Secretary of the All India Federation of University Teachers’ Association (AIFUTA). |
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UGC proposal worries university teachers
The University Grants Commission’s proposal for contractual appointment of lecturers for colleges and universities has expectedly caused worry and anxiety among the academic community. The UGC’s “bold” proposal is presently being examined by New Delhi’s National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) where a series of seminars and brainstorming sessions will be held before the proposal comes up for the former’s consideration. The proposal is interesting in the background of foreign institutions making inroads into the country. Already, the country is witnessing an inflow of foreign institutions through the “backdoor” and India has been discovered as a good “market”. So more inflow is inevitable. While teachers have raised questions about the “imported” system from the USA, there is no denying that the system has worked well in their case. It is feared that the future of contract teachers will be at the whims of a selected few. But these are baseless because the work is evaluated through performance. Also, most likely, the control of renewing the contract would not be in the hands of the heads alone. A machinery should be put in place for universities and colleges. Prof Arun Nigavekar, UGC Chairman, feels that the contractual system is not a new development as it was prevalent in foreign countries since old times. The private sector in India hires people on contract basis and it works well. Initially, several foreign countries introduced plans for distance learning for professional courses in the country. Once they realised that India is a good educational market, they opted for franchising mode and then shifted to another one where the student could partially study here and go abroad for further studies. Sciences were the next area where they are making inroads. He says that competition is always welcome. When the foreign universities run their full-time programme in the country, they will bring along their work culture as well which means appointments on contract. What is wrong in the basic premise that a teacher who worked well continued?, he asks. A cross-section of experts agree that the contract system is a positive check on non-performers. ‘Non-performing’ academic community (even if marginal) is an open secret, but somehow it continued to be pushed under the carpet for long. Take a look at the real working conditions in the campuses and one would discover that there are teachers who don’t take regular classes. There are some with negligent contribution in research, guiding research or in research publications. Schemes like merit promotions were introduced, but the practice of regular promotions also continued. The duality in the system needs a check and the contract system could be a positive weapon. While critics say that the contract system is being borrowed from the USA, isn’t it also relevant to mention that the system has worked excellently there? Contract jobs have the elements of accountability and responsibility. So, the issue merits a dispassionate analysis before a final decision is taken. One of the winning traits of most successful and respectable educational institutions in India and other countries is the practice of term appointment. Both the parties are clear that there is no undue threat to each other as proper care is taken in evolving the rules of the game — the mechanism of appraisal (who, how and when). “The performance-driven renewal of the ‘term’ becomes an acceptable practice unlike conventional recruitment system where regular employees carry a notion of “permanence”, Professor Vaidya says. “The need of the hour is not “learned” but “learning” teachers. It is pointless if students learn from those who have stopped learning. Education has failed not due to systemic weakness but the government’s failure to implement the various programmes. He fears that under the new system teachers will get salaries only for the months they taught. “Only senior members of the faculty or blue-eyed boys will get permanent jobs”, he avers. Professor Arya says, teaching and research require the willing cooperation of teachers; but coercive methods like contract appointments will prove counter-productive. |
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Regaining
the lost prestige Education today has become a social phenomenon. A modern college or university is no longer an ivory tower cut off from the sordid realities of our social
existence. Teachers struggling for better pay scales, democratic rights and academic and political freedom, graduates’ long queue for jobs, students’ fight for their rights are all reflections of modern society. All this prove that higher education is an integral part of the social whole. Thomas Hobbes succinctly says, “Man is made fit for society not by nature but by education”. However, education has always been given a raw deal during India’s chequered history. The British bureaucracy used it as an instrument for the imperial hegemony, politico-cultural domination and administrative control. We are still continuing with an obsolete educational system with only nebulous changes. Attempts to reform universities and colleges did not succeed earlier as the process was handled not by professionals but amateur leaders and administrators. The fragile texture of educational institutions could not stand against the irrational approach of non-professional authorities. Every effort of reforming the system became an exercise in futility. Therefore, universities and colleges need to be reshaped both in structure and content of academic discipline. The recent Ambani-Birla Report on Educational Reforms has attracted the attention of experts. The teaching fraternity and university authorities have reacted sharply. The central leitmotif of the report concerns the contractual nature of teachers’ appointment. This has been presented under the cover of academic brilliance and excellence. What criteria will be followed in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors and Pro Vice-Chancellors? If the report remains silent on this, it has served the purpose of the powers that be. The system of contractual appointments has its merits and demerits, but the issue in question is whether it will suit the present academic environment. India is not America; it is still a country clinging to its indigenous past. The effort to transplant American or European model in toto without changing the basic matrix of the educational system would tantamount to committing academic
harakiri. The report will present a vast canvass for teachers to review the question of job security and evaluation. Will the findings help improve quality in teaching and research? At the moment, we should reserve our comments till the comments of New Delhi’s National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration on the Ambani-Birla Report. It is indeed a
“Testing time for teachers”
as expressed in The Tribune editorial (November 12). Teachers must present their own blueprint to convince the intelligentsia of their viewpoint. They should respond to the report dispassionately keeping in view their own self-criticism and the rationale developed by the powers-that-be on recruitment, promotion and modes of evaluation of their work. Sadly, students who are directly concerned with the work evaluation of their teachers are being kept off the scene. What teachers need to do on their own is to inculcate self-criticism and present themselves as genuine scholars. They should rediscover their lost prestige and restore their image in the eyes of society. Governmental and academic institutions are in a state of decline; they need reforms both in structure and content. Since politicians have failed to bring in proper reforms in colleges and universities, the gaps need to be filled up for improving the quality of higher education. We are presently witnessing increasing bureaucratisation of contemporary societies regardless of their socio-politico- educational structures. This, if not checked, will lead to an authoritarian atmosphere in which the life of the youth would be smothered and the spirit will transform itself into a brittle mass. The writer is former Professor & Head, National Integration Chair, Punjabi University, Patiala. |
His tirade against Modi
cost him the ticket
Pandya has totally dedicated himself to the people of his constituency; he knows almost every voter by name and makes it a point to be with the families in moments of sorrow and joy. He devotes two days in a week for the people, listens to their problems and solves them to the best of his ability. Pandya’s disenchantment with Modi began when he refused to vacate his Ellis Bridge seat to enable the Chief Minister enter the State Assembly. Pandya’s loyalty to veteran Keshubhai Patel, arch rival of Modi, further widened the gulf; Pandya has now come to be known as “a symbol in the fight between Keshubhai and Modi”. Things came to head when Pandya appeared before a tribunal of judges probing the communal riots, evoking Modi’s wrath. Later, the tribunal indicted the Chief Ministerb for inciting communal riots. The choice given to him (Pandya) was either to tender an apology for going to the tribunal or resign his ministerial post. Pandya chose to step down and in a strongly-worded statement told Modi that he was quitting the cabinet as he did not want the “interest of the party to be harmed by an individual’s whims and obstinacy”. No amount of persuasion and cajoling could make him change his mind. Obviously, Pandya does not agree with Modi’s “politics of hate” and this is manifested in his efforts not to allow any communal flare up in his constituency. While Ahmedabad burnt, Ellis Bridge remained peaceful. His critics accuse him of leading a mob all set to attack the houses of minorities but Pandya says he had taken charge of the frenzied crowd to prevent it from going on a spree of looting and killing. The suspense over the question of Pandya’s renomination to seek election for the fourth time continued last week as list after list of the BJP’s poll candidates were released by the party headquarters in Delhi. Modi has strongly opposed ticket to Pandya and made it a matter of personal prestige even threatening the central leadership to opt out of the poll if his bete noire was re-nominated. BJP and RSS leaders trying to mediate between Modi and Pandya were, in fact, served an ultimatum by the CM; if Pandya was given ticket, he would not contest election. Modi even refused to listen to his mentor Deputy Prime Minister and BJP strongman, L.K.Advani, who was against dumping a popular leader like Pandya. Observers feel that obstinacy and defiance of Modi has created the impression that “Chhote Sardar” of Gujarat has become too “Bade” (big is size) even for the central leadership to handle. Truly, elections in Gujarat has become Modi-centric and he has become larger than the BJP. The aftermath of the election has been worrying the BJP’s leadership. Confident of winning, the central leaders are worried about Modi’s role after the election din settles down. Pandya too has been preparing for his own battle after the elections. Asked in an interview to Star TV what would be the scenario after the elections, he said: “Newly elected MLAs will elect the leader (of the legislature party), of course, in consultation with the central leadership”. Pandya, who will campaign despite injustice done to him, does not appear to be in a mood to accept Modi as the leader after the poll.
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India’s hard talk on Pakistan
Modi’s strategy PDP wooing In the tussle over the Chief Minister’s chair in Jammu and Kashmir between the Congress and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the two parties were seen as representing cases for Jammu and Kashmir regions respectively. Though the Congress finally succumbed and the PDP got the prized chair, the regional party has not forgotten the electoral drubbing it received in Jammu region where it did not win even a single seat. The PDP, however, has begun making amends in right earnest as evident from the party’s choice of candidates for the Rajya Sabha and the nominated seats in the State Assembly. Both the
candidates are from Jammu region and from the minority communities of the state. The party has chosen T.S.Bajwa, who hails from RS Pura, for Rajya Sabha and Ms Shanti Devi, who is from Bhaderwah, as its choice for the nominated seat in the State Assembly.
Shifted to Japan Outgoing French Ambassador to India, Bernard de Montferrand was his humourous best during his interaction with mediapersons at the embassy here on Thursday. When a scribe asked him if the three-month long event ‘Season of France’ would also be held in China, the Ambassador who is proceeding to Japan to take up the next assignment politely reminded him, “I think you would have noticed by now that I’m Ambassador of France to India, not China. I hope that the French embassy in Beijing is as active as the embassy here”. The Season of France in India promises a political rendezvous dominated by the visit of French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and other ministers.
No
pomp & show The huge Ramlila Grounds at the Kavi Nagar area was decked up and brightly lit. Fountains were playing. The youngsters’ interests were very well taken care of as pop music and dance floors complete with psychedelic lights kept them busy. What distinguished the party from others was that closed circuit TV was installed all over the ground. Such security measures were necessary as the marriage was attended by a galaxy of VVIPs, including Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekawat and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani. “Baratis” from all over Uttar Pradesh, especially from Tomar’s constituency Ghaziabad, kept pouring in from the morning itself and the flow did not recede till late night. Scores of food and snacks stalls proved far too inadequate for the invitees. The VVIPs obviously had everything at their beck and call in an enclosure specially set up for them. Needless to say, the whole area was swarming with men in khaki and hundreds of police personnel had to be called from nearby districts for security arrangements. The organisers, participants and mere onlookers had whale of a time. Who is bothered about crass display of money power? Contributed by Rajeev Sharma, Satish Mishra, Prashant Sood, Tripti Nath and S.
Satyanarayanan. |
Number of Ramzan fasters on the rise
The political iftar feasts came to a virtual close this Ramzan. One must try and ape the Middle Eastern pattern where they do make it a point to invite close friends and neighbours for breaking the fast and even here there's a get-together almost every evening at one Middle Eastern Ambassador's home, where care is taken to invite just very close friends. There has been a considerable rise in people who were on fast this year so much so that timings for a book reading session had to be adjusted because one reader was observing Ramzan. And friends coming from the Valley have all been fasting. Exceptions alright. Yasin Malik who had checked in last week at the capital's well known Batra Hospital for treatment of his failing kidneys said that bad health comes in way but his lovely looking sister, Ameena, who is accompanying him, here has been fasting. I was amazed at the progressive attitude of the Kashmiri women who say in the most matter of fact their divorced status. I'm writing this in the context of Ameena telling me without the slightest hesitation of her elder sister’s divorced status. I witnessed this bold attitude in many a Kashmiri home. Unlike the capital where we have all frills of modernity yet we sit wrapped up under those facades and camouflages.
World
AIDS Day Today is the World AIDS Day. With the latest AIDS slogan ‘live and let live’ hitting the air, it could be quite an appropriate slogan for other spheres too, political and bureaucratic. But there's no denying that the decay in which we are living, words hold out little meaning. Ironically it may sound, last week the ‘International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women ' (Nov 25 ) was celebrated against the reports of rapes and molestation and mindless shootouts of the ordinary. Our mindset is turning murky. So chanting of slogans can be of little help. It’s not a bad idea if I fit in another irony of sorts, the World Television Day passed by on Nov 21. What's bared on the idiot box could definitely leave dents on viewers ...and leave you wondering at the bare futility of the 'days' dedicated for this or that issue!
NRI report The whole of last fortnight there have been press conferences here in the capital wherein NRIs came with facts and figures and so-called 'proofs' of funding of the Hindutva brigades by unsuspecting US companies. Sabrang Communications (India) and South Asia Citizens Web (France) have done a report on the theme “The foreign exchange of hate: IDRF & the American funding of Hindutva”. A detailed investigative report on the use of American corporate funds by the US-based India Development and Relief Fund to promote the projects of Hindu supremacist groups in
India. The report locates “development” and “seva” work as the most potent Sangh cover in its spreading the ideology of hate. In the wake of the growing levels of sectarian violence across the world, we all need to heighten the level of scrutiny regarding the funds being transferred to organisations’ overseas funds ostensibly collected for development and relief work but being used to foment hatred and spread violence. |
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Time to treat war like disease There has been a lull in the war talk emanating from the White House. Why? Is it because George W. Bush is contented for the present with the grand victory of his party in the Congressional elections so he no longer has to play the role of Tarzan? Or has the United Nations outmanoevered him and put him in a corner? Or is it that Bush has taken notice of the massive anti-war
demonstrations in Washington? Just when people in Europe were asking, “Why have the Americans not followed the protest marches in London, Paris and Bonn?”, a truly massive demonstration against Bush’s cry for war against Iraq took place. Not since the Vietnam days has Washington seen such a huge rally — some 200,000 people crying for peace, with posters and banners bearing slogans such as, “No to weapons of mass deception”, attacking the President. Richard Cohen of the Washington Post wrote: “Not since the Vietnam era have we seen the vilification of a president as a scoundrel and a liar — not to mention a fool. In caricature, Bush is as dumb as Lyndon Johnson was ghoulish”. Accusing Bush and his administration of lying to the American people, the Washington Post columnist added: “Evidence is accumulating that neither Bush nor his colleagues are particularly punctilious about the truth. For good reason, they surely want a war with Iraq — but good reasons are not, it seems, good enough for this administration. Instead, both the President and his aides have exaggerated the Iraqi threat, creating links and evidence where they do not exist. Even before this war starts, its first victim has been the truth”. Bush seems to think that any assertion if made with enough vehemence will be accepted as truth by the rest of the world. Many of the ‘truths’ that he has been talking about would embarrass even the Pentagon and the CIA. For instance, he has said that Iraq was six months away from developing a nuclear bomb. Weapons experts around the world think, however, that it is at least five years away from doing so. Similarly, Bush has claimed that Saddam Hussein has a growing fleet of unmanned aircraft that could be used “for missions targeting the United States”. But the CIA indicates that while there may be such aircraft, their range is very limited. Likewise, Bush’s attempts to link Hussein with terrorist outfits like Al Qaida have lacked credibility because they are unsubstantiated by evidence. In the Pentagon, everybody is supposed to be a hawk, but lately differences of opinion appear to have risen, and this may be another reason for the pause in belligerent utterances coming from the White House. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is as eager as Bush for a war on Iraq, is experiencing tensions with the military. War and violence have become the language of the world’s biggest power and it’s affecting the whole world. When the USA rattles its armoury, the rest of us tremble. The scale of violence seems to be expanding throughout Planet Earth. Einstein once said, “The power of the atom has changed everything except our way of thinking. From time to time scientists and medical doctors have discussed ways of changing the traditional aggression of mankind. Many of them have felt that wars can be treated in the same way as disease. Pasteur, Virchov, Pavlov and Schweitzer all believed there was a science not only of illness but also of crime and war. Mankind has fought wars for thousands of years and the majority of people are inclined to think that violence is a normal part of human nature. Most people, though ready to condemn war and proclaim their love of peace, develop the most warlike passions when their own countries are involved. The idea of the just war or holy war is still widely accepted. In the Old Testament, war was regarded as an instrument in the hand of God. The non-violence preached in the Sermon on the Mount introduced a totally new attitude. But wars continued and indeed became a means of furthering the Kingdom of Christ. Thus, the Crusades. St. Augustine, while urging individuals to love their enemies, defended the use of war and claimed that it was commanded by God. The righteous war is also recommended in the Bhagavad Gita. The Hindu tradition of religious tolerance, however, has been an important influence in India towards peace. This tradition is now facing threats from all sides. |
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Appointment of teachers on contract basis is not a new development. The system has been in vogue in many foreign countries. The private sector in India hires people on contract and the system is working well. What is wrong in the basic premise that a teacher who worked well continued, asks University Grants Commission Chairman Professor Arun Nigavekar.
Of course, the academic community has its own reasons to differ on the issue. Prof S.C.Vaidya, Panjab University’s Dean, Faculty of Management and Commerce, says: “Indian educational institutes are passing through times of technological changes, resource constraints, external pressures, internal conflicts and continuous challenges to do more and to do well. Quality and relevance are vital factors requiring us to have an integrated view of all aspects of management of education including recruitment, selection, training, promotion and retirement”.
Dr Keshav Malhotra, a fellow of the university senate, says: “teacher is not a contract labourer. People who come to teaching are committed to the purpose of knowledge in their profession and to provide quality education to students who pay for it. Not appointing teachers on permanent basis amounts to violating the trust of the students”.
Prof Charanjit Chawla, a former president of the Punjab and Chandigarh Teachers’ Union, says: “the concept of contractual appointments originated from the USA. Invested funds, hefty students fees and gift amounts run universities there”. In a developing country like India such systems “meant for the elite” cannot be put into practice in the general scenario. The institutes in the heartland of the country cannot be compared with those in big cities. “Withdrawal of the government from the system of higher education will be a cruel betrayal not just to the system but millions of poor and downtrodden”.
Chand Singh Madaan, a research scholar, says “the marginalised and unapproachable people will be worst hit by the new policy of appointments, if accepted. This will promote sycophancy and affect research work; there will be lesser drive to work because of the uncertain future”. He feels “if the UGC is so bothered about the falling standards, why does it not strongly implement its own self-appraisal scheme? Also, why is the assessment system not being utilised for grading the teachers’ performance? There is need to look for alternatives. No process can be successful without accountability and responsibility.
Prof P.P.Arya, a former president of the Panjab University Teachers’ Association, says: “Contract appointments, instead of promoting efficiency, would breed fear psychosis and sycophancy. Teacher is the torch-bearer of society and the job requires independence, discretion and an environment where he can work without fear and uncertainties”. 
A
colleague, who had recently lunch with Haren Pandya in his modest house in Ahmedabad, could not believe this was the abode of the man having the gumption to challenge the might of Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Having resigned from the Modi cabinet as a cabinet minister, holding revenue portfolio, Pandya moved on to a two-room apartment in a middle-class locality in Ahmedabad. The colleague was in for more surprise as he saw no cook or servant in the house; cooking was done by Pandya’s wife. The home food was delicious indeed. Nothing explains Pandya’s popularity better in the Ellis Bridge constituency than his austere living. He held the seat in urban Ahmedabad area for three successive terms; surprisingly the margin of his victory went up after every successive election. Yet he was denied ticket by the BJP’s central leadership in the do-or-die assembly elections due in barely two weeks from now. Also this sums up Pandya’s personality too; steadfast in what he believes to be right, commitment and defiance coupled with stubbornness.
The Vajpayee government is embittered over the way the international community (read the USA and the UK) has behaved with India on the issue of the so-called “war against terror”. Top functionaries of the government with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in the vanguard have expressed deep resentment over the double talk of the international community and its so-called characterisation of “good” and “bad” terrorists. India has been letting its views known to the foreign powers whenever high-profile visits take place from the West which has been quite frequent. But in past six weeks not too many foreign dignitaries have visited India, thanks to the military de-escalation between India and Pakistan since the successful completion of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
Undeterred by this loss of opportunity, the Vajpayee Government seems to have launched precision attacks on Islamabad in two ways: through the BBC’s “Hard Talk” programme and through the XP division of the Ministry of External Affairs. Two of the most important Indian government functionaries — Yashwant Sinha and Brajesh Mishra — appeared on the BBC’s much-sought after news programme “Hard Talk” this week and, as observers put it, “batted on the front foot”. The high profile South Block grapevine also has it that the new foreign office spokesman Navtej Sarna too has been drafted to change tack.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi does not leave anything to chance. Modi’s most ardent supporter in the party Arun Jaitley realised this the other day when he told the Gujarat Chief Minister on his mobile that he was reaching Gandhinagar next morning. But Modi was not prepared to buy Jaitley’s promise as he immediately contradicted the BJP’s Chief Spokesman saying that his name did not figure in any of the Airline’s passenger manifests. Jaitley, needed by Modi during the election campaign, would now be in Gujarat for the next 14 days and return to the capital to attend the marriage of the son of a prominent media personality. Poor Jaitley has no escape route left as Modi would be needing his advice, planning and strategy.
The day M. Venkaiah Naidu took over as the new president of the BJP, he asked his partymen not to indulge in pomp and show and utilise their available resources for the welfare of the poor and the downtrodden. But some BJP members seem to have scant regard for such sermons. On Thursday, one would have easily mistaken the grand marriage party of senior BJP MP Ramesh Chandra Tomar’s daughter in Ghaziabad (UP) as a 21st century vanity fair. Over 20,000 people participated in the gala event which seemed like a leaf straight from fairy tales.