SHILLONG, Aug 10: The Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association said the implementation of the New Education Policy 2020 will increase the workload of teachers manifold.
“But there is no discussion, planning or commitment to employ more teachers. If adequate numbers of teachers are not appointed, the system will be overburdened to the extent that it will collapse. Unfavourable teacher-student ratio will impact the quality of teaching, learning and the evaluation process,” MCTA general secretary, Airpeace W. Rani said on Thursday.
This will ultimately lead to a delay in the declaration of results for various examinations to defeat the very purpose of the NEP 2020, he said.
“Who will suffer from these problems? It is the students. Is NEHU concerned about this? It is highly disappointing that NEHU seems least bothered about the students,” Rani said.
He pointed out that the teacher-student ratio adopted by the University Grants Commission at the undergraduate level is 1:30 for social science and humanities and 1:25 for the science streams.
But colleges in Meghalaya, particularly those in Shillong admit far more students than prescribed, he said, adding that the teacher- student ratio in the existing three-year degree courses exceeds the standard one by four-five times.
“The ratio will worsen with the implementation of NEP 2020 as many colleges set to achieve the target of having 3,000 students as envisaged in the NEP 2020. It is sad that NEHU always turns a blind eye to this. It seems they are happy as long as the students keep paying the fees,” the MCTA general secretary said.
He said it is a known fact that colleges in Meghalaya do not have the necessary infrastructure to run even the three-year degree courses now.
Stating that even in the best colleges of the state, each department does not have more than one honours room, Rani said the students are not given the choice of optional papers due to the lack of classrooms and an inadequate number of teachers.
“The students are practically denied the choice of papers offered in the syllabus. The NEP 2020 tries to address this problem by stressing the role of technology, but no college can provide separate office rooms for the teachers to take online classes,” he said.
“Unlike in universities, teachers in colleges share a common staffroom. Online classes cannot be taught using the common staffroom. If colleges cannot provide adequate infrastructure for a three-year degree course, how will they be able to provide infrastructure for the implementation of the NEP 2020 instantly from this academic session?” he asked.
Rani said the MCTA is afraid that while there may be some college managements keen on implementing the NEP 2020 hurriedly because a few see it as a money-making opportunity even without providing proper services to the students while others desire to show NEHU and the government how efficient they are.
“The implementation of the NEP 2020 will be just a farce. Students have the legitimate right to know about the fee structure before joining a particular course. Denying such information amounts to unfair service and may put them in jeopardy if they are unable to pay the fees. This is exactly what is happening with the implementation of the NEP 2020 as illegitimately ordered by NEHU,” he said.
Rani said if students do not know the fee structure of the course they have just joined, students from underprivileged backgrounds would be put in a tricky situation.
“Should we teachers cater only to the educational needs of a few privileged students, ignoring the rights of the underprivileged ones?” he asked.
He pointed out that more than 90% of the students in Meghalaya pursue their higher studies in private colleges.
He further said that the implementation of NEP 2020 without financial support from the Centre and the state would lead to an increase in college fees in private colleges.
“This will strain the resources of the students, especially those coming from the rural areas. The increasing cost of education will force many students to exit college by the second or third year. Such students will never return to complete the remaining part of their studies,” Rani said.
Para 26.3 of the NEP 2020 promises to provide the financial support required for its implementation. “In particular, financial support will be provided to various critical elements and components of education, such as ensuring… adequate number of teachers and staff, teacher development, and support for all key initiatives towards equitable high-quality education for under-privileged and socio-economically disadvantaged groups,” it says.
“Sadly, there is silence over the financial aspect while the curriculum is being pushed for implementation,” Rani said.
“Neither the state nor the central government has done anything to financially strengthen Meghalaya’s colleges for implementing the NEP 2020. Increasing the number of papers and courses for students does not guarantee the production of better graduates,” he stated.
Rani also said the multi-disciplinary benefit of the NEP 2020 is a daydream as many rural colleges, especially in the Garo Hills, are single-stream institutions.
“These institutions may even face the danger of being eliminated from the educational system. But one wonders why the principals of these colleges are too afraid to state the facts. Even multi-disciplinary institutions will definitely limit the choices given the infrastructural constraints,” he added.
