'Teaching culture needs paradigm shift'

One of the main problems in the higher education system in India is the lack of quality teachers in universities and colleges.

Dr Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president of the Centre for Policy Research, said that to improve the quality of education, the mindset of the faculty members has to be changed.

“Bureaucratic and political influences in universities can be kept at bay as it is possible for educational institutions to protect their autonomy. The principal culprits are the faculty members in higher education,” said Mehta, former member-convenor of the prime minister National Knowledge Commission.

“We have a fairly large number of faculty members who have wilfully abdicated their roles to the politicians and their mindsets are very hard to change. The culture of teaching has to be changed,” he said. 

Mehta had resigned from the post last year after disagreements with the
government’s stance on reservation.

“One thing I am worried about is the way the reservation system is being implemented when it comes to the appointment of teaching faculty,” he said, adding that professors and teachers should focus on research. He, however, is said reservation is a necessity for a diverse country like India.

“In our society, there has to be some form of system where the marginalised also get equal opportunities. People think reservation comes at the cost of merit. However, we just need to find a way of identifying potential talent. A student from a marginalised community who scores 60% in his examinations has merit,” he said.

Also, he said there should be a review on what constitutes a minority.

“Reservation for OBCs is contestable. We have never had an honest debate on what constitutes minority in the country and which communities we should target,” he said.