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Managing teachers
Cambridge beats Oxford in best varsity list
Research project
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Managing teachers A dysfunctional education system can only produce dysfunctional future citizens, said Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, while speaking at the 150th anniversary ceremony of the University of
Mumbai.
The
existing education system is faulty. It is controlled by
bureaucrats. Dr Manmohan Singh has truly a great vision of 'expanding the higher education', but that is not enough. To achieve/sustain excellence in education, we need a strong but effective teacher education as well as managers of the education system well versed in pedagogy. A UGC survey shows that 90 per cent colleges and 68 per cent universities are substandard. Half of Class XII students never enter colleges. Though higher education has grown exponentially, the dropout rate of under privileged classes varies from 50 per cent to 61.5 per cent. One of the key findings is that 57 per cent teachers don't have an MPhil or a PhD degree. This survey should serve as an eye-opener. UGC Chairman Professor Thorat has identified the two main reasons behind the quality gap-availability and quality of facilities and quality of faculty. The investment has dipped from 17 per cent to 10 per cent. The rural education is worst affected. Thus, we need a micro-education process. The HRD Ministry usually comes out with a novel solution, unlimited centralised control and regulations. This tied investment is a real danger that no educationist dares to question. For example, the spark of reservation started by former Prime Minister V. P. Singh and fuelled by HRD Minister Arjun Singh has divided the Indian polity into classes that are clamouring for bigger cakes. It is an optical illusion, as educationists have really failed the common man. The reservation issue has diverted the attention of education managers from quality improvement in higher education to the political control of votes. I am a teacher. I may be wrong; but for me, all students are equal, though their potentials are varied. Educationally, I believe the abilities of a group of students, however streamed they may be, always follow a bell-shaped curve. You cannot have uniformity but a teacher can ensure harmony by putting sincere efforts. Each class is like a garden, where each flower has a unique shape, colour and fragrance, adding charming beauty to environment. The existing education system is faulty. It is controlled by bureaucrats who are supposedly expert in providing spot solutions to the problems, especially related to education. Lots of ills are plaguing education. Relevant research in the field of science is very less at higher studies. There is no regular interaction between the industry and the academia. As a result, the industry continues to suffer the shortage of skilled labour. Dr Thorat has missed one essential point in his explanation. We actually need managers who can think for the optimum use of resources for better education. We have to regenerate resources within the available resources for growth. Teaching is transfer of knowledge. The teacher should impart knowledge in such a way that the pupils don't get scared of a difficult subject. So, a teacher needs to keep focus on the subject as well as on students. So far the emphasis is on knowledge. However, it is not the knowledge only, but its use that empowers a student to meet the challenges of life. There is need to introduce a new course of 'Management in Education' at the teaching level. A lecturer is promoted to the post of Principal or Head of the Department but is quite ignorant about management methods. Managing an institution is very different from teaching students in classes. Even directors of education are quite ignorant of research-based effective management strategies and planning. Hence the gap between the facilities required and the existing infrastructure persists without any corrections. The writer is a former ADPI, Colleges, Punjab
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Cambridge beats Oxford in best varsity list LONDON: Cambridge has replaced Oxford as the best university in the United Kingdom, according to a varsity guide published on Monday. The university league table, which assesses entry grades, teaching quality, staff-student ratios and graduate job prospects, is dominated by Cambridge followed by Oxford University, Imperial College and London School of Economics. In fact, being ranked the highest-performing varsity, Cambridge has topped the list of 113 universities in the UK for 35 of the 46 subjects for which it is judged, compared with five for Oxford. Oxford has dropped behind Cambridge—for the first time in six years—partly because Cambridge University has counted the facilities provided by individual colleges affiliated to it, The Daily Telegraph reported. Moreover, Oxford is the third for student satisfaction and has a high number of students for each member of staff, while Scotland’s St Andrews University, ranked fifth in the guide, has the highest rating for student satisfaction. Only half the Russell Group of 20 research-intensive universities feature in the top 20, with Leeds at 37 and Liverpool at 41. Though these get nearly two-thirds of the quality-rated grants, other factors such as staff to student ratios and spending on facilities brought some of them down. The increasing strength of red-brick varsities in the rival 1994 group is illustrated in the guide with St Andrews fifth, Bath ninth, Durham 10th and Loughborough 11th, with Royal Holloway rated at 13 and York 14. Only Aston, a non-aligned university, comes within the top 20. Though critics have flayed the attempt to judge the quality of higher education in the UK, University of Exeter’s Vice-Chancellor Prof Steve Smith defended saying that “more information should be provided to applicants to inform their understanding of the complex higher education sector.”
— PTI
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Research project
Dr R.S. Johal, a lecturer at the Postgraduate Department of Physics, Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, recently visited the Institute of Theoretical Physics I, University of Stuttgart, Germany, for three months. He started a new collaborative project on nano-thermodynamics. Dr Johal, a former Humboldt Fellow, was invited jointly by the University of Stuttgart and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Physics, Stuttgart. The research work focused on the study of models of quantum heat engines. These models help to theoretically understand the limits and capabilities of nano-scale devices and motors. According to Dr Johal, the field of nano-thermodynamics is rich in research potential with challenging open questions that have a bearing on quantum computing, thermodynamics and nanotechnology.
— TNS
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Campus Notes Noted IT company JK Technosoft recently visited the Department of Computer Science and Applications here for campus placements. The head of the department, Dr Nasib Singh Gill, maintained that this event marked the commencement of placement activities at the department. Eight students of the batch passing out in 2008 have already been absorbed by leading IT companies, he added. Anusuya Rao, project manager, JK Technosoft, delivered a pre-placement talk and detailed the gathering about her organisation. She was assited by Chanchal Sharma and Ritu Gupta. The placement schedule comprised an aptitude test and a technical exam. Faculty members Latika Kharb and Pradeep Kumar helped in conducting the programme. As many as 48 students participated in the placement test. Freedom struggle anniversary
The university will celebrate the 150th anniversary of India's first freedom struggle (1857) with a slew of events during August 14 to 30. A university spokesperson informed that various literary, cultural and sports events would be organised during the fortnight-long commemorative celebrations. These include a half-marathon contest, university-level choreography contest, patriotic songs and poetry-recitation competition, declamation/debate contest, solo dance competition, painting, poster-making and clay-modeling contests, Haryanavi skit and fancy dress competition. A university-level quiz contest on the role of Haryana in the freedom struggle of 1857, a folk song competition, group song competition, ragni contest, short plays, a mushaira (in collaboration with the Haryana Urdu Academy), and a national seminar (in collaboration with Haryana Sahitya Academy) will also be organised.
— Contributed by Sunit Dhawan
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Deadline Column 102 (July 27, ‘07) Civil Services
Engineering
Medicine
Scholarships
Travel & Transportation
Pervin Malhotra, Director, Career Guidance India (CARING) (www.careerguidanceindia.com) |
