Teaching sans research

In the labyrinthine maze of Bangalore’s education landscape, colleges and universities of “quality” are a definite rarity. If these institutions had been centres of innovation, the City would’ve definitely benefited in every field, the urban planners would not have had to look elsewhere to carve out a better Bangalore. But will this change at all, if “research” remains in the backseat. Perhaps, the teachers hold the answer. 
 
One look at Bangalore University, for instance, and you know the state of research is not exactly rosy. Every academician would agree that better the research, superior the teaching and vice-versa. Yet, if plagiarism, duplication and ghost-writing are time-tested techniques to dish out quick-fix doctorate degrees, will change happen at all?

Research activities at undergraduate colleges are often restricted to classroom learning and lab activities. This is clearly brought out in a report submitted by the State Knowledge Commission. For several new undergraduate courses offered by the City colleges, the teachers are often unfit to train students. Now, that’s a shocking revelation by the Commission.

So, where lies the solution? The Commission’s Secretary, MK Sridhar stresses on the need to integrate innovation and research at the micro level. The emphasis should be on elementary teacher resource institutions such as the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) block resource centres and cluster resource centres to strengthen the teachers. "Strengthening and innovation of teacher education should start from the grass root level," says Sridhar.

Some efforts are underway for sure. “We have several best learning practices in the state like Nali Kali, a child centered and activity based learning technique. But, it has not been added as a part of the curriculum," Sridhar observes.  

Role of NCTE, NCERT

Grooming teachers to become competent researchers is a challenge for the National Council for Teacher Education, National Council for Education Research and Training and state level research organisations. "Research is an integral element of a learning activity. Pursuing research can strengthen the skill sets of teachers and can in turn improve the quality of teaching,” asserts a NCERT official. The Council often conducts workshops and training sessions for teachers. But educationists expect more. The emphasis, according to them, should be on designing need-based teacher training courses, consulting state education departments.

Yet, unless teacher recruitment processes insist on competence, educators might just not feel the need for such quality enhancements. "Is securing high marks in their post graduate course and a PhD the only criteria to become a good teacher?" wonders MS Thimmappa, former vice chancellor, Bangalore University.

The Right To Education (RTE), meant to bring much-needed reforms, provides some hope. But many teachers aren’t impressed by the proposals. The RTE Act, for instance, calls for teachers to participate in training programmes, design and development of curriculum, syllabi, and text books development without interfering with regular teaching. The Act also puts teachers and schools responsible for low performance of the students.

Clauses such as maintaining cumulative records for every student; remedial teaching for poor performers have sparked debates among teachers.  Teachers who don’t innovate are hardly the answer to change an examination-centric education system. Says Thimmappa: “We need a student centered education system. Teachers should introduce students to real life problems. These hands-on sessions will motivate students to come up with solutions.”

On their part, the teachers contend that the examination-oriented system leaves them little time for research activities. Without performance based incentives and other perks and support from the Government, teachers say they are bound to find the provisions tough to implement.  

Service conditions of teachers obviously leave much to be desired. Two-thirds of teachers who work in unaided colleges get remuneration that is abysmally low. "How can a teacher carry out good research in such conditions? Hence, what they produce is nothing but gibberish.” This  remark by a University professor tellingly illustrates the problem, and shows just how distant a solution is.