Call to evaluate effectiveness of ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ scheme among students
There is poor coordination between colleges and the private player conducting the classes; since they intimate the colleges at the nick of time, the colleges find it difficult to reschedule other programmes to accommodate the ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ classes, say
The qualification approval process for the newlyappointed Principals and Assistant Professors in colleges affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University was being delayed indefinitely, said professors at the academic council meeting here on Wednesday.
In some cases, the approval from the university was not given even after nine months, said P. Ponramu, Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, Government Arts college, Melur. Also, several postgraduate students were still waiting to receive their course competition certificate., he said. ViceChancellor J. Kumar attributed the delay to time taken to scrutinise certificates produced by the candidates. Whe the members said that other universities issued it without delay, the VC said a viable solution would be to enable the students to know the status of their certificates at the university so that they could reach out to the respective section to enquire about it, Mr. Kumar said.
M. Sulthan Ibrahim, Assistant Professor and Head, Department of Computer Science, Government Arts College, Veerapandi, Theni district said there were irregularities in implementing ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ scheme due to poor coordination between colleges and the private player conducting the classes. “Since the staff taking classes intimate the colleges at the nick of time, the colleges find it difficult to reschedule other programmes like practical exams or internal exams to accommodate the ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ classes,” he added.
Moreover, regular assessments should be made to determine how effective the programme was among the students. “As about 40 hours of classes are being dedicated to the ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ scheme, there should be a system to evaluate its worth,” he said.
A. Velanganni Joseph, Head, Department of Youth Welfare Studies, MKU, said that in many colleges where the student strength was less, the students were asked to travel to a nearby college to attend the ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ classes. “A student while traveling to another college to attend the class was robbed on the way. At least provisions for the students to attend the classes online should be made,” he added.
Christianna Singh, Principal, Lady Doak College, spoke about the difficulties faced by Ph.D scholars in publishing their works in journals other than those listed under UGC Care list. “They should be allowed to publish their research in reputed interdisciplinary journals instead of mandating them to publish only in the journals listed under the UGC Care list which keeps changing every year,” she added.
The council members urged the ViceChancellor to expedite paper valuation as the delay affected the professors who were assigned the work from concentrating on the subjects they teach.
The members called for extending the period of eligibility from two years to five years for candidates who have cleared the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission into Ph.D programmes. The CET must also be conducted twice a year – in June and December.
On the nagging issue of salaries pending for long, the ViceChancellor said the university staff would receive it within a few days. March slaries would also be disbersed on time, he said.