Few engineering professors are qualified for the job

State Level Task Force committee report says a majority of teachers in engineering colleges lacks the mandatory Ph. D. qualification. In Category-II co-curricular, extension and professional development related activities are taken into view and out of 50 points one must score 15 points. In Category-III research and academic contributions of aspirants are viewed and it accounts for 400 points.

Unqualified teachers are enjoying the status of a professor in the engineering colleges, thus indicating that no norms are being followed by private colleges in awarding professorship to their teachers, revealed a report of the State Level Task Force committee set up by the government in 2012.

The report says 532 teachers are working as professors without the mandatory Ph.D qualification. Except a few top colleges, no college is immune to this practice including those permitted by the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad recently for admitting students.

Officials say colleges are indiscriminately designating teachers as professors, throwing all norms to winds. As per the procedure, Associate Professors with minimum five years experience are eligible to become professors but they have to go through a rigorous process including gaining mandatory points on the Academic Performance Indicator (API). “Aspirants have to satisfy a team of experts from the University after qualifying for an interview but very few colleges or aspirants prefer to attend the interview,” says Prof. D.N. Reddy, Member, University Grants Commission (UGC).

The API points are given in three categories. In category-I the teaching, learning and evaluation aspects are considered and out of 125 points, they must secure 75 points.

In Category-II co-curricular, extension and professional development related activities are taken into view and out of 50 points one must score 15 points. In Category-III research and academic contributions of aspirants are viewed and it accounts for 400 points.

The JNTU Hyderabad Rector T. Kishen Kumar Reddy says several aspects like the aspirants’ contribution to research, papers presented at national and international conferences, attending refresher courses and publication of research articles are taken into account. The quality of papers is also graded. But he agrees that affiliated colleges of JNTUH seldom get their teachers’ qualifications ratified by the university for fear of rejection. In fact, 70 per cent of teachers are not ratified.

As per AICTE norms colleges have to maintain one professor and two associate professors for every six assistant professors. So they promote unqualified teachers as professors.

Source: The Hindu