There is no place for politics in academics, says UNICEF edu chief

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi, Chief of Education, Euphrates Efosi Wose, on Saturday, said that the education sector in India has a lot of politics and it is the responsibility of the people concerned to de-politicise the teaching system.

She was delivering the keynote address during the inaugural ceremony of the two-day brainstorming workshop on 'Vision and Mission of Inter-University Centre for Teacher Education', organised by the Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Department of Higher Education and Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), here.

Euphrates said that she has identified interference of politics in the process of appointment of the teaching faculty, promotions and administration. Due to politics, the education system has suffered a lot in the country. A few teachers have developed the tendency of turning away from work, due to political influence, she said.

She said that the teaching profession needs supportive supervision and it is the responsibility of the people concerned to de-politicise the education system. "Though the need of the hour is to bring in technological solutions, our objectives should drive the technology that we use. Unfortunately, the Education system is using available technology to drive its objectives," she said.

National Council Of Educational Research And Training (NCERT) Director H K Senapaty opined that there is a need for sharing experiences and innovative ideas to improve quality of education of teacher. "The paradigm shift from the product to a process-oriented classroom should become a reality. There is a need to emphasise three competencies-Intellectual, Social, and Character-among the teachers and teacher-educators. There is a need for research to identify problems at the grassroots level," he said.