Students evaluate competence of Mangalore University teachers

Mangalore, July 3: Mangalore University has recently conducted an evaluation of competence of its postgraduate teachers by students, according to T.C. Shivashankara Murthy, Vice-Chancellor of the university.

He told a meeting of the Academic Council on Monday that a report to this effect would be submitted to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

Prof. Murthy said that evaluation of teachers by students comprised evaluating competence of both permanent and guest lecturers teaching post-graduation students on the university's campus and its two constituent colleges — University College in the city and Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa College at Madikeri.

Quality assurance cell

He said the university had set up an Internal Quality Assurance Cell for improving and maintaining quality in administration and education. An Academic and Administrative Audit Committee had been set up under the cell.

The committee was an independent body comprising members who were not part of the university. It was headed by the former Vice-Chancellor of Kuvempu University P. Venkataramaiah. The committee conducted the evaluation of teachers by collecting feedback from students through questionnaire, the Vice-Chancellor said.

Prof. Murthy said that competency of teachers had been classified by awarding grades.

“We are planning to analyse the feedback by hiring a competent agency,” he told presspersons. The committee would again meet either in August or September. The university had been planning to get the analytical report ready by then. He said the committee would visit each teaching department and administrative wings to know the administrative issues. It would submit a comprehensive report on academic and administrative issues. It would be forwarded to the NAAC.

Findings

Prof. Murthy said the findings of the evaluation of teachers recently helped the university in screening teachers while appointing guest teachers for 2012-13.

He said that some guest teachers were with the university for more than a year. Nine such teachers had obtained either C or D grade. Those teachers were dropped and the university did not re-appoint them for the current academic year. It warned about 15 teachers who had obtained B grade and asked them to improve their competency.

To a question, the Vice-Chancellor said that if any of the permanent teachers had obtained low grades, the university would counsel them to improve their performance. He said that teachers had been asked to submit their self-appraisals to the university.