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When the opinion of students matters

Teachers' Evaluation
Last Updated 11 April 2011, 12:58 IST
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And the UGC had issued a notification to all the universities making the periodic appraisal of teachers mandatory to get the accreditation.

In spite of all these recommendations, the scheme has not been implemented properly in many colleges. Teachers raise concerns over students rating them and most of them believe students lack the maturity and expertise to evaluate a teacher.

“I understand the good intention of the UGC and the NAAC in recommending the performance evaluation of teachers by students. But there are many discrepancies in this system. Most of the time, student rank teachers on the basis of their popularity rather than ability. A teacher, who is close to students, earns more points than a disciplined teacher. When the education governing bodies in the country were in the favour of making this system mandatory, these apprehensions were raised. Hence they agreed to keep student’s rating as one of the parameters to evaluate a teacher’s performance rather than accepting it as a single-handed measure,” says Raveesh Hegde, a lecturer in a private college.

On the other hand, students demand their opinion of a teacher be given more importance as they are the major stakeholders in the system. “As politicians are assessed by the voters, teachers should be evaluated by the students. I don’t agree that students are biased towards teachers. Their ranking helps a teacher know his or her abilities. It helps knowing what students feel about a particular teacher. Actually, one cannot stop students from assessing a teacher. However, we do it in an informal way. Performance Evaluation gives a formal shape to this practice, which is good in many ways,” says Farheen Nizam, a student.

Student ranking exists in almost all colleges as it is considered by the NAAC in giving accreditation. However, in most colleges, the process is just namesake. But some colleges have implemented it in a serious manner where the management appoints a committee which suddenly visits the college and collects the feedback of the students.

“The feedback is kept confidential and every teacher is informed about his or her performance. If a teacher has scored below the set grade, he or she will be given a chance to upgrade his or her performance.

Actually the lecturers, who come under the contract system, are the most affected. Due to the fear of getting a low grade in student evaluation, some lecturers resort to favouring students and hesitate in bringing a discipline in class,” says Dr Chandrashekhar, head of the Department of Commerce, PES College.

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(Published 11 April 2011, 12:58 IST)

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