UGC's way of spoiling education

It is ill-advised to give a

When Amartya Sen called the public education system in our country a system for the teachers, by the teachers and in the interest of the teachers, he hit the nail right on its head. When academic decisions are taken by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), they are rarely guided by the interests of students.

They merely succumb to intimidation by teachers. The authorities manning these boards know that it is safer to succumb to the latter whose militant approach to sorting out issues can be quite a threat whereas the vast majority of students – particularly school children – and their parents do not pose the same risk to them. Teachers’ lobbies are powerful whereas student bodies can be put down.

Added to this is the political factor, another major deterrent to education. Whether it is teacher appointments, language preferences or even the curriculum prescription, politicians play a major role in an area where student interests are sacrificed at the altar of ugly politics.  The result, no amount of Acts in Parliament or policies advocated by educationists can improve matters. The scenario is bleak, whether it is school education or university.

Take the latest UGC decision which has the Centre’s full approval. It concerns the eligibility norms for teachers in schools and colleges. Candidates belonging to the creamy layer of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) will be given a further “relaxation” of 5% marks when they are considered for selection to teaching posts through direct recruitment.

Whatever may be the political compulsions that have driven this decision, did the UGC consider the effect of such policies upon the learners? Especially the first generation learners, many of whom may belong to the same OBC category? Far from helping these classes to rise, such ill-advised strategies will only push them down further.

If ill-qualified teachers are appointed in schools and colleges where poor and illiterate families hope to educate their wards, of what use are reforms like the Right to Education (RTE) or a brand new national education policy? These become meaningless when their very implementation is guided by forces other than education. 

Let us examine the university scenario first. The National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted for post-graduates was first int-roduced by the UGC to determine the eligibility of teachers in higher educational instituti-ons in the country. The basic objective of this three-part test was to determine their eligibility for college level lectureships, and also for awarding research fellowships at the university level.

Having taken this progressive step, the UGC did a volte face by altering the norms of qualification after seeing the results of the first examination. It declared that while candidates in the general category should score an aggregate of 65% in every part, candidates belonging to the OBC category would become eligible with 60% while those belonging to the SC/ST categories needed only 55%.

Even though these revised norms have been turned down in courts, the UGC continues to play havoc with educational standards at the college/university levels with the full support of the Centre. Its recent decision to lower the minimum marks still further for OBC candidates will spell doom not only for college teaching but also for research in universities.

Teacher Eligibility Test

The Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) introduced in 2011 is another entrance test for BEd gra-duates to ensure the quality of teaching in government schools. Conducted by the Central and state governments, this mandatory test was a corollary of the RTE Act whose main objective was to ensure proper teaching standards in schools where disadvantaged students study.

So, a score of over 60% was made compulsory to clear the eligibility test. But, if this is diluted again to satisfy political considerations, the quality of teaching will continue to deteriorate further.

The concept of reservation, if properly implemented, was to ensure that no citizen in the country should be left behind socially, economically or otherwise. This process of establishing equality should start with the schooling of a child. If the disadvantaged pupils in government or municipal schools begin their education with ill-qualified teachers, they will either drop out of school or carry their backwardness to college.

Here again, if their teachers and professors have been appointed with diluted standards, the products of such education will continue to be mediocre. When they, in turn, become teachers themselves again through skewed selection methods, their pupils will be even more disadvantaged.

Reservation is a double-edged sword that can cause havoc by producing generation after generation of ill-educated citizens. It has to be wisely implemented if it has to benefit the already underprivileged sections. Educational policies cannot be decided by politicians, who have their own agenda, or by politician-teachers who also have their own agenda. Amartya Sen’s comment is worth rethinking.