According to a report, the Human Resource ministry (HRD) is likely to stick to the performance-grading scheme that links promotions of university teachers to their ratings by students and peers. The teachers union has been protesting and many feel that students, who will be involved in this process may be biased. Delhi University (DU) students agree that it is high time they graded their professors. Teachers on the other hand, feel that this may affect the student-teacher equation and that they are not ready to be evaluated by their peers.
Eighteen-year-old Vipra Chopra, who is pursuing Philosophy Hons from Gargi college believes this is an important initiative for students. “Some teachers are biased while marking students for internals. They put their personal grudges before students performance. Girls, who they like are given much higher marks than other students. Teachers are aware that students can’t do anything about it. They are protesting now because they know it can backfire.”
Nisha Kumar, (name changed) final year journalism student from a prominent college in South campus feels this will empower students to voice their opinion especially against those teachers who forget they are here to teach. “We had a faculty member, who had been hired to teach IT. He was dating two girls from our batch and shrewdly told both that the other girl was after him. Another issue, which I strongly feel about is teachers who mark our internals. They are unfair,” she adds.
However, Ghazala Amin, associate professor of history and mass communication at the Jesus and Mary College opines that everybody has to be made accountable. “Teaching is not mechanical, you have to be enthusiastic about your work. It becomes a challenge for a teacher to communicate in 55 minutes. It is not about giving a lecture and coming out of the class. A teacher plays the role of a mentor, guide, imparts knowledge. Twenty-five marks is dependent on how students will grade a teacher, will the university moderate how it is being done? Some colleges have evolved certain systems, not all colleges are at that level. If students are made to believe they can make or break a teacher’s career what kind of respect will they have for them?”
Madhulika Khanna of Shri Ram College of Commerce feels, “DU is not very politically active, but in smaller cities, where politics is a major part, it can be a destructive tool in the hands of student leaders, who may use it to score against innocent teachers.”
Sanjay Kumar, associate professor, dept. of English, Hansraj College and a theatre activist is okay with being graded by students but not his peers. He says, “The power equation between students and teachers is being made equal. If we can grade students, so can they. However, I’m not in favour of peer assessment, there are too many problems in it.”