Himalayan Times (1960)

June 6, 1900

come to a stand-still.

The loDg-Urm remedy
for shortage of teachers
ii undoubtedly to improve
the prospeots of univer-
sity toachere and to train
them, and alio to »ee
that provision ii made
for taobnieal schools and
colleges whieh would ab-
sorb a oertain proportion
of the school population.
Canalisation of students
in the different techno-
logical epherea useful to
the nation is one of the
moat important task*
awaiting educationists and
planneri, and this will
alio tend - to deoreaee
pressure upon the univer-
sities

There can be no doubt
whatever that while the
problem! of number have
no easy solution, if we
oan bring itudent and
teacher more together, we
shall be ebl- to see the
beginnings of a solution.
The solution proposed il
that if it is impossible
to have a large number
of regular teachers, suoh
as professors, readers and
leoturers, at least let us
have tutors or fellows
who are senior graduates
and who will be able to
discuss particular topics
with the students.

Disoipline is the next
question that must be
dealt with. Here we have
a matter of fundamental
importance, for the desire
to play truant and break

laws is ingrained in man
Indiscipline has become
the order of the day
in a number of univer-
sities in India. The mat-
ter is oausing anxiety to
all educationists, and Pro-
fester Humayun Kabir
has dealt with the prob-
lem in his Ltlttrs on
Ditciplint. These letters
constitute a major contri-
bution to the subject of
educational reform in
India. .

He rightly observes
that the problem should
be dealt with at the se-
condary stage, and around
the problem of discipline
he has given us a criti-
cal analysis of the re-
forms needed in our
schools and eolleges.
Among his most important
proposals are that the
management of schools
should be improved in the
manner indicated by him;
that the administ ation
of universities should be
remodelled and that our
examination system should
be reshaped. The final
examination is unduly
emphasised in most of
our sohools and oolleges.
Regular work during the
year is therefore neglected,
unfair praotices are some-
times adopted and cram-
ming becomes a matter
of habit.

For this the reforms
suggested are: reduoing
the number of formal
examinations, reserving

marks for class work and
regular application, intro-
ducing a system of weekly
or monthly tests of ill
informal and healthy cha-
racter, and removing the
subjective . element in
examination*.''

The next problem
which I propose to dis-
ouss is the selection and
training of professors and
teachers in the TJniver.
lity. We shall assume
that the teachers are
paid on the University
Grants Commission's scale,
and have been selected
by expert committees in
an objeotive manner, free
from personal, oommunal
or parochial prejudices,
and their terms are fixed
in accordance with the
all-India scales approved
by the Commission. But
are the junior teaohers in
a university fit to teaoh
the olasses without any
training or experience ?

In the case of second-
ary schools we insist on
trained teachers, but where
universities are concerned,
we let loose a young and
brilliant grsduate in a
class of eighty or a bund-
red students, without any
preliminary training. How
to deal with large classes:
how and where to begin;
how to prepare adequately
for the lectures: what is
the value of diotating
notes ? These are ques-
tions which, in my view,
could be dealt with better

i