UGC to scrap performance appraisal
By Sruthisagar Yamunan | ENS - CHENNAI
05th November 2012 08:54 AM
In a move that has drawn strong criticism from academics, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to scrap the much-appreciated Performance Based Appraisal System (PBAS) for teacher promotions, a setup brought in just two years ago following wide deliberations.
At the 489th meeting of the UGC held recently, it was decided to accept the recommendations made by a Revisit Committee, which was formed to reassess norms with regard to teacher appointments and promotions framed in the UGC regulations of 2010, following pressure from teacher associations.
Sources in the UGC said that the revisit panel had recommended that the universities be given more say in the way their teachers were assessed.
Therefore, a prescribed format might not serve the purpose.
However, scrapping the PBAS has evoked much criticism from the academia. S P Thyagarajan, who was part of the committee that framed the 2010 regulations, said he was unhappy with the decision that seemed retrograde.
According to him, the whole idea of PBAS was to bring uniformity across the country on appraisal of teaching faculty.
“When we framed the regulations, it was scrutinised and accepted by the MHRD,” he pointed out.
The format prescribed by the UGC for the assessment under the PBAS was based on a set of Academic Performance Indicators under three different categories. “Not just research, the idea was to provide a 360-degree assessment. We also gave enough space for the universities to tinker the format within the framework,” said Thyagarajan.
Academics felt that the UGC had succumbed to pressure from teacher associations, many of which wanted the norms to go.
“By scrapping the Performance Based Appraisal System, the UGC has now pushed the universities back to the older setup, where merit alone was rarely the consideration for promotions,” said Gopalji Malvia, a former professor of the University of Madras.
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Comments(51)
The educators must understand the basic nature of teaching and research. Both are very creative. Creativity cannot be measured and taught. Making a person to write or speak for the sake of materialistic aspects like money and promotion will never work out and one cannot push and thrust knowledge into ones mind. likewise one cannot force anyone to write and speak, because writing and speaking or anything for that matter has to to be realised. When writing paper for the sake of API, it is really humiliating oneself for doing it for the sake of promotion and post. Unless and until you realise your creation or feel it you cannot do it, it is like forcing to do things in a reluctant manner. Teaching and research is creation, it will take its own pace and time, allow us to think freely without time limitation and space limitation like 2000 words etc
Posted by Dr. D .Nivedhitha at 11/15/2012 18:55 Reply to this Report abuse
It is humanly impossible to give all the knowledge to all the students, educators should create the atmosphere for the students to love to learn,provide space for realize the knowledge and make him or her to implement it in his or her life, education plus inhumaneness is always a waste. During the vedic period the scholars used to mug up the versus, because there was no recording system, straight away it should be recorded in the brain, but now you can record it on the paper, photo copy it, save it in the computer. In this contemporary world, we should realise that it is a waste of time to mug and write the exam. We are living in a super modern world crossing modern time, post modern time, hyper moderntime, learning for the examination and mugging up the portions are not at all required, your computer is there for you to remember. teaching and learning has become very simple, the educators should help the students to understand the concepts.
Posted by Dr. D .Nivedhitha at 11/15/2012 19:12 Reply to this Report abuse
For an educator educating is itself a research, handling each and every student is like doing research work. Every student requires different teaching atmosphere, method etc.And teen age is a very delicate period, like flowering period in plants, also human flowers during that period, it is very critical to handle this age. Gaining knowledge and fighting against the biological life is like feeding the mind and starving the body. I might go away from the main topic but I don't feel shy to express this angle about the teenage problem. This should be seriously kept in mind while modifying any eduction system. If we sincerely share knowledge with our students there is no time to work for the promotion by satisfying the norms of API.
Posted by Dr. D.Nivedhitha at 11/15/2012 19:27 Reply to this Report abuse
The problem with API, IQAC etc is that in name they are "Quality Assurance," but in practice "Quantitty Assurance." And as has been rightly pointed out, ISBN, ISSN etc are hardly indicators of any quality. If UGC and MHRD is genuinely interested in quality appointments, they should first make NET mandatory, no SLET/SET Secondly, reservation system should go, that is people should not be made to pass NET or get norms on the basis of quota. Thirdly, NET third paper should be made subjective. With regard to promotion to Professorship, publication in standard International journals in each subject should be manadatory, and couple of journals will have to be identified (In humanities especially) and made applicable throughout India.
Posted by Hrishikesh Sharma at 11/16/2012 19:44 Reply to this Report abuse
The PBAS and API system has only degraded the quality of research works. Research articles are getting published after payments. It seems that those drafted regulation regarding PBAS and API were playing in hands of publishers. This apart, teachers are getting indulged in politics to grab posts to complete the numbers under the co-curricular head. If these are withdrawn, it will be highly beneficial for academics.
Posted by Dhananjay Dwivedi at 11/20/2012 20:15 Reply to this Report abuse