Views of Prof. Rupinder Tewari on Teacher Evaluation by Students
Going by the news media, it seems Panjab University is soon going to introduce a concept of Teacher Evaluation by the Students. How far this concept is correct, what will be the outcome of this evaluation and what impact will it have on teaching community, I would like to put forth my opinion.
At present, Panjab University is undoubtedly one of the leading centres for higher studies in terms of number of publications of research articles/books and the awards/honours bestowed upon PU fraternity. Currently, three Indian universities are being headed by professors from Panjab University. The fact that Union government has agreed to meet our financial liabilities, is not out of charity, but because of the academic contributions of the teachers of Panjab University. The reason, I am emphasizing these points is, if university teaching faculty is doing so good, why should we tinker with it. There is an old saying- if it is not broken, why fix it. In other words, is there any need for teachers’ evaluation by the students. What are we going to achieve by this exercise?
A vast majority of the university teachers are fully aware of their talents and areas where they need to work upon. These days, students are also quite smart and bold enough to request their teacher, in case he/she is not coming up to their expectations. If students feel hesitant in talking directly with the teacher concerned, they can approach the Academic Committee. When such informal and effective alternatives are available and being practiced as well, why do we want to formalize this by asking students to fill evaluation forms which might end up creating unpleasant situations on the Campus. Though University may propose/contend, this written document will remain confidential, but realistically speaking how many of us believe in this. It could very well be exploited by authorities at the time of interview for promotions. If university decides to introduce this written evaluation system, it should be confined between the teacher concerned and the students taught. No way it should be in the hands of any other person. It may be good idea if faculty members, especially new entrants, are encouraged to attend an orientation course dealing with the expectations of students from their teachers on the campus.
Another point and a serious one is, whether all students should evaluate teachers or there should there be a criterion to select a few students. Let us assume, only a few students having good academic record are selected for teacher evaluation. Even this evaluation will not be free of problems. In PU campus, the examination system is largely based on internal evaluation. In order not to annoy the teachers, students might give satisfactory evaluation report. So why should we go in for teacher evaluation, if it is not going to give us the true picture ?
There is a possibility that teacher evaluation report submitted by two different classes taught by the same teacher are contradictory. One class is happy with the style of teaching of a concerned teacher, whereas other class wants him/her to improve in this area. What does a teacher do in this situation? Should he/she become an actor by dancing to the tunes of the students? All of us know that a good teacher speaks from his/her heart and mind. If he/she is put into such a situation, he may lose interest in imparting quality teaching. The end loser in this situation will be students, which no teacher wants.
In my view, majority of students would not like to evaluate their teachers in the form of a written document. It is only a small section of students who are either yet to grasp the meaning of teacher-taught relationship or have some mileage to achieve by raising such issues. The teacher-taught relationship is very pious. The only thing is some students may fail to recognize this. There is no denying that some of us do not foot the bill as expected from a dedicated teacher. This tiny community of teachers provides a nice fodder to equally tiny posse of students who want to remain in lime light for right or wrong reasons. The question that comes to my mind is – should one play in the hands of such miniscule fraction of students by going in for teacher evaluation in the form of a written document?
A request to PU authorities and PUTA is to give it a serious thought before introducing this concept. Heavens are not going to fall if this issue is not introduced in the current academic session. Merely, saying that teacher evaluation system exists in some of the IITs or good academic institutions of USA, and therefore we should also adopt it. There, it was introduced by learned governing members of the institutions and in Panjab University, it is being introduced without sufficient thought and debate.
Churning young minds into responsible human beings with high moral values and academic knowledge is not an easy task. Once a student perceives a gap with teacher or vice versa, it is not what both of them had wished for. No academic institution can grow without dedicated teachers and equally good cadre of sincere students. For an effective and mature academic environment, a healthy student-teacher relationship is of utmost importance. We (teachers and students) should strive for it and desist from creating unpleasant situations which create a wedge between these two communities.
Prof. Rupinder Tewari,
Centre for Microbial Biotechnology, PU, Chd.,
Fellow, PU, Chd.