College principals asked to shuffle teachers vis-a-vis topics!

What's apprehended is 'if the impact of teaching is lost in the shuffling' - A section of teachers

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, August 24: The State Higher Education Department is now on the job to get college teachers reshuffled vis-a-vis their teaching topics, apparently with a view to ensure the impart of quality education. Will the move yield the desired results? It is a matter to be keenly watched in the days ahead.

Higher Education Director P Jidung, through a notification issued for principals of all government and provincialized colleges in the State, ‘requested’ them to ensure with the help of the heads of departments/subjects concerned that ‘no teacher is allotted to teach any topic/curricula for more than a period of three years or so at a stretch’.     

The notification said that the government is in the knowledge of the fact that ‘many college teachers use to teach the same topic/course curricula of a department for years together without reviewing the topics to be taught, and the same are not allotted to other teachers on rotation basis, and it is noted to be not a healthy practice of classroom transaction of faculty for imparting quality education’. 

The notification has also asked the college principals to submit a detailed report in this regard to the Director of Higher Education, Assam with a copy to the Principal Secretary to the Government of Assam, Education.

A section of teachers, however, is sceptical of the government’s move as that, according to them, may affect, what the government said, ‘the healthy practice of classroom transaction of faculty for imparting quality education’.  Some teachers are of the view that in higher education specialization in particular topics or branches is a must. “College teachers generally teach in the very topics they are specialized with in their postgraduation. A teacher can give his/her best in the very topic he/she is specialized with. This is because a student has to go for more in-depth study in his/her specialized topic than other topics in master’s degree. The notification issued by the Director of Higher Education, however, stopped short of making all such issues clear,” a section of teachers said, and added, “What’s apprehended is if the impact of teaching is lost in the shuffling.”