Education System Touching Low-ebb

 University and College teachers' appointment processes and interests have changed beyond recognition in the last four to five decades. My father-in-law Dr Sabhajit Mishra, a retired Professor and Head of the Philosophy Department of Deen Dayal Upadhyay University of Gorakhpur, says that in the seventies the salaries of university and college teachers were not as lucrative as they are today yet the desire among good students to become university teacher was very high. The yearning to learn more and excel in their fields was unbeatable. Dr Mishra tells the story of a Professor at BHU, who used to commute from his home to the university on a cycle because he could not comfortably afford any motorised vehicle, however, his enthusiasm to purchase books was seen to be believed. It was generally seen that after collecting his salary every month, the first thing that he used to do was to go to any big bookstore to purchase the new arrivals of books.

 

See the contrast, in present times the teachers spend little on books and they spend more time on the sale and purchase of properties. No wonder that in Delhi, most of the government schoolteachers are found to be busy in property dealings. They devote little time to teaching the students but more to property business or tuition. The situation, however, is not so bad in colleges and universities but it is certainly not very conducive to learning and imparting good education. It does not mean that everything was hunky-dory earlier, but it was definitely not as bad as it is today.

It is openly talked about that money plays an important role in the appointments of college and university teachers. It is not a secret at all that the rates have been fixed for posts-wise. Speak to any University teacher and he/ she will admit that even in the appointments of the Vice-Chancellors and the Principals, money changes hands. Some say that even high-ups like Governors and Ministers do accept bribes for the appointments of Vice Chancellors.

This situation, if not stemmed, may lead to unfathomable degeneration of education in the country. While copying in the examinations by the students in cahoots with unscrupulous teaching staff has already caused enough damage, bribery in the appointments of teachers and Vice-Chancellors is bound to irredeemably shatter the system.

The government(s), the public and the educationists must all  have to wake up to the reality otherwise education is bound to  go into the hands of mafia dons