The University Grants Commission has made serious mistakes in conducting the examination for teachers’ aptitude in the National Eligibility Test. For instance, the question about whether women only should be selected for teaching at the primary level makes no sense. It is assumed that women teach children better than men at that level. It may be that mothers primarily do the job. The reason, however, is that women take the job more enthusiastically than men. An assumption is that women are supposed to be more able to teach the basics than men who are more equipped to teach at higher levels. It is also wrongly assumed that women teach children with more love and care than men who are busy in a competitive world. The fact is that women are available on a lower pay. The UGC goofed in including this irrelevant issue in the eligibility test. The question is open to subjective interpretation. In a multiple choice test, the proposition cannot be argued out. The IQ test was also highly unsatisfactory.
What is astonishing is that an apex body like the UGC has come up with these bloomers. It has the mandate to frame the syllabus, appoint teachers and direct the flow of funds. How can it stoop to such folly? In this context, the Union HRD Minister of State, Shashi Tharoor has hit the nail on the head saying that education should not be stifled by too many regulations. He has advocated greater flexibility and enlightened governance in the vital area of developing our human resources.