NUEPA designs teacher training curriculum for better handling of on-campus crises
Faculty working at NUEPA also feels that adequate administrative understanding would have helped Hyderabad University handle Rohith Vemula's suicide case with more sensitivity.
National University of Educational Planning and Research (NUEPA) designs curriculum for empowering teachers teaching in the higher education sector. Unlike the existing courses that only work as refresher models, NUEPA's one year program will help university teachers not just brush up their academic curriculum, but will also enable them to handle administrative crises and build a better connect with students.Faculty working at NUEPA also feels that adequate administrative understanding would have helped Hyderabad University handle Rohith Vemula's suicide case with more sensitivity.The university is designing a one-year diploma course for teachers. This online program aspires to enable faculty members understand the importance and powers of the autonomous university set up. It will also help teachers understand traditional and modern teaching techniques and will emphasise the social, psychological and economic contexts of learning.Currently there are 66 academic staff colleges affiliated to the University Grants Commission. These colleges offer orientation, refresher and short term courses to teachers.The Human Resources Development ministry has also set up the Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers and Training Centre at Banaras Hindu University campus. The institute aims at providingqualified faculty to fill in the vacant posts across universities. The scheme also aims at developing centres of excellence for curriculum and pedagogy.The new curriculum being designed by NUEPA, however, aims at providing learning and teaching skills to teachers, to make them aware of the university system and to make them recognise their rights as facultyas well as duties towards the students and their institution."Young professionals entering as teachers are just out of student life. Scientists or researchers entering teaching have had a long sabbatical from teaching and teaching techniques. Both these teachers learn the art of teaching in due course," explained a NUEPA professor."The idea of this diploma is to give a head start to the teachers, instead of letting teachers struggle with the system to learn teaching methodologies and do refresher courses," added the professor. The faculty working on the project also feels that incidences like the suicide by a Dalit student at Hyderabad University could have been avoided and could have been dealt with more maturity had the teachers possessed a sound knowledge of the university traditions. "Not all teachers are actively involved in political activities on campus. But they must be aware of the university culture, the needs of the education society and their duties towards the students and the system outside the classrooms," explained the professor.