College education in Kolkata

My friend is a professor at a government sponsored college in Kolkata. She often comes to the library to pick up books during morning hours or before lunch break. I used to be extremely intrigued about her working hours till I discovered that there was no such concept of regular hours for college teachers. My friend tells me that generally there are no students to teach or very few classes allotted to teachers. Students do not bother to attend classes and teachers are equally uninterested in teaching. This leaves them with ample time to pursue their individual interests.

My sister who is a professor at a private college under UGC pay scales has similar stories to narrate. There are seasons mainly after exams when students do not attend classes at all. Though officially teachers are not on leave the college staff room is practically deserted with most teachers signing the attendance register and leaving early without any explanation. Academic pursuits are low on the list of priorities of most academic staff.

Another friend of mine who is on the payrolls of a college is mostly seen hobnobbing with press and media. He makes rare appearances at college classes but can be frequently seen on television and other social platforms .He is more known for his opinions on social and political issues than for his teaching. He earns a lot of money from his secondary engagements .

The scenario is particularly painful in the area of humanities teaching. Large numbers of students enter these courses in search of degrees rather than any real love for knowledge. Bored students either stay away from classes completely or attend only the mandatory sessions .Equally bored teachers often involve themselves in secondary pursuits but carry on aimlessly with their teaching till their last day of retirement. Jobs are secure and risk free with zero accountability. The revised pay scales for teachers match those of many mainstream jobs. Most teachers complain of the unimaginative education system and teaching methodology. The current generation of students have little interest in traditional teaching methods and teachers hardly innovate to make the lessons appealing. Students prefer going to private classes in order to improve their exam scores. It is a vicious circle. A young relation of mine who had enrolled in a premier college of Kolkata spent almost major part of her college years holed up in her room studying on her own and attending private classes occasionally. I understand that there are many like her and teachers could not care less what’s happening with their student’s life.

Education is topmost on the government agenda. Funding is not a problem anymore for most colleges .However nobody seems to be happy with what’s going on. Conscientious teachers continuously rue the fact that they take home huge sums of money without giving back anything worthwhile to the society in return. I am sure this is not the scene everywhere and there are centres of excellence .What bugs me is the fact that the system  is not rigorous enough to curb such inefficiencies.