Research does count ------------------- Goa does have among the highest literacy rate in the country, but the question that needs to be asked is how good is the "quality of the literate"
By Brian Antao, Ph.D. Goa has embarked on a great mission towards educational reform in the state. This is a particularly good effort, considering that Goa has the highest literacy rate in the country, the Goa educationists have not rested on this laurel and have embarked to further improve the "quality of education" in the state. Goa does have among the highest literacy rate in the country, but the question that needs to be asked is how good is the "quality of the literate". Goan graduates find it difficult to secure high quality jobs across the country. We find many of the Goans, not pursuing higher studies, but migrating to the Gulf and the merchant shipping sector for low quality jobs, that pay comparatively well as compared to similar jobs in the country. In a recent newspaper article, one Goan engineering educationist claimed that the engineering courses offered in the Goan colleges are based on the best text-books available in the field, and attempted to blame the students for their poor performance. In another pertinent comment-article by a former IIT-Madras director, that appeared in the Indian Express, he blamed the exam-centric Indian education system where it is possible to study only 60% of the curriculum and obtain 80% in the examinations. The problem we have in Goa is that many of the educationists have been "blaming the students" for their poor performance. These attitudes of Goan educationists of "blaming students" for poor performance is not going to result in improving the quality of education in the state, however much the system is reformed. Some teachers claim that the student is not motivated. Another prominent Goan claimed he left his teaching job, as he seemed to be addressing his lectures to only five or six students who were motivated in the class. Thank you for leaving, for one must say that you have failed as a teacher to motivate the students of your class. A good teacher is also a motivational speaker, not an arrogant blow-horn. Does the Goan education system have the feature of private appointments with the teachers, which is prominent in the developed countries, where students can spend one-on-one time with their teachers to get their doubts cleared? Instead, in Goa, we have spawned off an eco-system of tuitions and coaching classes, a concept that is alien in the developed countries. Coming back to the claim made by one of Goa's engineering educators that the curriculum is drawn from the best textbooks in the field. This is the biggest problem that promotes "text-book" based cramming. Engineering is a very "practical" field and one simply cannot be a good engineer by cramming from a prescribed textbook for the course. Today, the core problem in Goa's education infrastructure is that it completely lacks the research aspect. This text-book approach of education does not in any way prepare students for a "research" career. Many of the technology and other scientific innovations take root at the various research programmes at the universities in the developed world. For example the first computing machine the ILIAC, that has led to the entire generation of the computing field, was built as part of a research programme the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. So was the Internet browser, commercialized by spinning off the company Netscape. Goa needs to develop and introduce research and innovation skills to students early from secondary school onwards. Introducing into the curriculum research assignments can bring this about. These research assignments take different forms depending on the subject. In technical and science subjects, would involve assigning students a research oriented problem, that they go off and solve and arrive at an innovative solution that which they cannot simply copy from a single text book or a guide. It is important that from the secondary stage onwards, the course curriculum is not based on a single-text book, but a selection of reading list for the subject that the student has to refer to during the course. The course or subject definition is not drawn from the text-book but is defined in terms of topics and sub- topics that compose the course and subject. And the student is then motivated to study these topics and sub-topics from the reading list provided. In terms of engineering education, for example, one cannot acquire mastery in a programming language by cramming from the best available textbook just the syntax of the programming language. To learn to be a good programmer, one has to go through the exercise of writing for oneself dozens of programs that address the different aspects of computer problem solving, and going through the entire practical cycle of compiling these programs on a computer, debugging them and ensuring that they work and solve the problem definition. The second core problem in terms of a lack of research culture in Goa's education framework is at the Goa University level. Again the problem is with the way the faculty is structured and operates. In the developed countries all the faculty members above the "lecturer" grade have to compulsorily have their own on-going research programme in their field of specialization. This applies not only to the science, medical and technology areas but also in the basic arts. At the end of the academic year, it is not only the students that undergo evaluation, but the faculty undergo continuous evaluation as well. At the end of each semester, for each course, students are asked to fill out a "teacher or course evaluation" forms. This also ensures that the faculty is upto- date with the latest developments in the field. By definition a "lecturer" is of course only a lecturer, which is a purely teaching job, and usually the number of lecturer positions are limited and on a temporary basis called in to fill in when there are not enough regular faculty to teach the entire range of courses offered by the University. The lecturer position is not a step in the ladder of progression, and often senior post-graduate students who have excellent records are called in to be a lecturer or an instructor in a course. It is because that the faculty at the University level in countries like the US are required to have their own research programmes and bring in research funding to support the programme that many Indian and foreign students are able to avail of scholarships to study there. Students are hired by a professor as a research assistant to work in their research programme. Full time faculty has to acquire grants to support their research from different sources, both the public and private sector. Goa University needs educational reform too, moving to spearheading research. It can learn from the overseas experience, where bringing in research funding is a tough process, which involves writing a high-quality research proposal, which outlines which new area, or new problem that will be researched. Research proposals also include such factors as how many students will be supported and involved in the programme. With India moving in the direction of "developed" status, it is essential for Goa to keep in step and for Goa University to also reform its pattern of education and move in the direction of being a comprehensive research and teaching university. How is the current Ph.D. programme of the Goa University structured, keeping aside issues of quality? Ph.D. programmes in the developed countries are resident programmes and don't involve a mere compilation of a Ph.D. thesis. A typical Ph.D. programme at the leading US varsities involves a series of stages: first passing a qualifying exam, which is usually the entrance to the programme. This qualifying exam is not a statewide gala-affair, as exams in India tend to be. This internal exam comprises both written and oral sections, to screen out candidates who don't make the grade. This is followed by compiling an Area Paper, a tough exercise, where one has to do a comprehensive study and research the developments in his or her proposed Ph.D. research topic, identify the past work that has been done in the field and define his or her Ph.D. research problem in such a way that it does not re- invent the wheel or replicate work that has already been done in the field, and usually involves a global search. This ensures that research done at the universities keeps advancing the state-of-the-art. In addition, the Ph.D. student has to carry out teaching assignments, as a Ph.D. from a leading US university prepares its graduates for a range of career choices which include directly entering into a junior faculty position or taking up a private sector position. Another aspect for development for Goa University is the Management programme. The University took the baby step in this direction and set up the department of Management Studies, which has grown to a certain level of maturity. It is now time to spin it off into a full-fledged Goa School of Business and Management (GSBM) on the lines of the IIMs. For setting up the GSBM the Goa University should seek the mentorship, partnership and guidance of one of the leading business and management schools, either the IIM network or even look more ambitiously to the more world-renown business schools such as the London Business School on INSEAD, France. Andhra Pradesh has set up an International school of business that has a link-up with the London School of Business. With a little bit of genuine motivation, a lot can be accomplished. The problem with many a Goan is that vital aspect of a lack of motivation. Many Goans also tend to be techno- phobic. Resistance to change and a lack of a desire for continuous improvement is another stumbling block in the path to progress. Not to mention the certain seniority-based hegemony that prevails and suppresses talented youth from advancing. At the same time, the mandatory retirement limits imposed also cuts many talented senior individuals who still have the capacity to perform at a high level of competence. Our own current Prime Minister who is well past the retirement age is a good example of some one who is governing the country based on performance and competence factors. The retirement system needs to be reformed, and based on performance and competence as well as allowing a voluntary aspect to it. Goa once took pride in having a susegado culture. In today's dynamic world that has changed much it would be a shame to say we still have a susegado mind-set! ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
