Quality of teaching

E. Balagurusamy, Member (Education), State Planning Commission, Tamil Nadu states

Our findings show that majority of teachers in many engineering colleges are in mediocre category. When the teachers themselves are lacking employability skills, how can we expect their students to be employable? So, the correction has to start from the level of teachers. It is time to have a serious look at the quality of teachers employed in various engineering colleges and arts and science colleges as well.

The quality is quite poor indeed. In a major NIT, half of the faculty in chemical engineering are B.E. who have graduated in the past year. There is nothing inherently wrong in this situation if these faculty came to teaching because of passion but it is mostly because they have been "pushed" into it due to lack of other options. If this is the state of NITs, there is no doubt that the quality is even poorer in other colleges. One way is to increase the number of doctorates who graduate from IIX and they go to NIT to teach.

Directors of IITs speak

on various issues.

in a panel discussion on the state and future of IITs.

on the faculty crunch in IITs.

However, there is no mention that IITs receive around 100 applications (possibly more in science) for 2-3 positions and the faculty crunch is not due to lack of candidates but the lack of "quality" candidates, wherein the quality is defined by the respective IIT.

Dream

Infosys chairman emeritus N R Narayana Murthy, "While only a couple of IITs feature in the top 50, there should be at least five IITs in the top 10 engineering schools in the world in the next 10-20 years"

Ideas without action mean nothing.

$35 tablet

The HRD minister announces the launch of $35 tablet on October 5, 2011. The specifications are 2 GB RAM, 32 GB HD, Wi-Fi and 5 inch, 7 inch and 9 inch screens. The cost of production is apparently Rs. 3000 but is subsidized by the government. The production CEO says, "it will cost as much as "a vegetarian meal for two at a five-star hotel in Delhi". This is one of the most ridiculous comparison that I have heard. While the CEO may have had several meals in five star hotels in Delhi and elsewhere, many of the students and the middle class have never even seen the inside of a five star hotel. Why? Because of this.