‘Indian education institutions suffer from acute teachers’ shortage’

Former UPSC Chairman DP Agrawal joining USTM as Prof Emeritus

GUWAHATI:  Prof DP Agrawal, former Chairman of UPSC New Delhi on Thursday said that there was an immense teacher shortage in the educational institutions of India, even in the IITs. He stated that out of the 780 accredited universities of the country, 360 are private universities. There are over 35,000 colleges, of which 65% are private. There are nearly 5000 engineering and technology institutions in India. However, the most concerning fact is that there is a teacher shortage of over 40% in these educational institutions, he added.

He was addressing the faculty members of the University of Science &Technology Meghalaya on Wednesday in the Faculty Development Programme (FDP) of the University. Prof Agrawal has recently joined USTM as Professor Emeritus.

“Teaching method should be changed depending upon the learner. Connection between student and faculty is very important and the lack of it demotivates fresh learners who come from rural areas or from vernacular medium,” Prof. Agarwal said.

Making a presentation titled “Student Centric Teaching and Learning” at NKC auditorium of USTM he said that teachers should have role in students’ selection or admission to the institution so that they know the prior learning of the students. They should have clear strategies to transform from school learning which is guided, to college learning which is independent. Mentioning about the New National Education Policy he stated, “Creating a curriculum which is not driven by teachers alone but flexible, offers many options for students to choose for him to build a roadmap to future is very important. Assessment should not be examination based alone, but should allow students to explore in a free and fearless environment. The curriculum must enable to build character and well rounded person.”