Bring back retired teachers, Gandhi tells CU

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, January 24, 2007

A concerned governor wants Calcutta University to bring back retired teachers so that students regain their trust in teachers. Gopal Krishna Gandhi, also the university’s chairman, said this at the closing ceremony of CU’s 150-year celebrations.
Before taking the dais at the function, Gandhi spoke to the teachers and students. While the teachers said the fluctuating temperament of students were impediments to giving them quality education, the students grumbled that their teachers were too busy to give them extra time.
Students’ trust for teachers was fast eroding, Gandhi said. “If this trust were not regained, the 150-year-old university would soon be unable to differentiate itself from the 150-year-old banyan tree at the botanical garden,” he said.
To regain this trust, Gandhi suggested that retired teachers be brought back to the classes. “They are the treasure house of experience and will be able to solve this problem,” he said, adding that the extra money required for this exercise could be taken from alumni contribution.
Fulltime teachers should not feel threatened, Gandhi added. “There is no need for general teachers to be worried, as the classes conducted by retired teachers would not be conventional. These would be special classes aimed at restoring the students’ lost trust,” he said.
UGC chairman Prof S. Thorat, however, disagreed with Gandhi at the function. “There should be no part-time teachers. The government should ensure that all colleges and universities afford full-time faculty. Teacher outsourcing should not be done,” Thorat said.
Former HRD minister Pratap Chandra Chunder blamed political interference for the education scenario. “No university in Bengal enjoys complete academic autonomy. We often hear about malpractices at universities, which should not happen.”
Thorat added that the UGC would do a social audit to see how many OBC students were currently getting access to higher education. The UGC will also start its own quality assessment programme while encouraging colleges to also get assessed by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NACC).
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