Orientation & Refresher Courses
K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty, Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Tamil Nadu, speaking at Bharathiar University in Coimbatore on Friday. The Indian education system, especially the school system, is meant only for mediocre and above average students. It is not meant for geniuses, K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty, Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Government of Tamil Nadu, said here on Friday. Inaugurating the orientation and refresher courses for college faculty in Language Studies and Commerce and Business Administration, organised by the UGC-Academic Staff College of the Bharathiar University, he said the system was ideal for those who learnt by rote and did not encourage original thinking.
“We have a habit of extolling the virtues of students who reproduce what they have learnt on the examination paper. Teachers should realise that telling by memory is not a great achievement. Students should be encouraged to write in their own words. Even very good students with the highest marks are not able to draft a simple letter when they take up a job,” Mr. Shetty. He urged the teachers to keep abreast of the latest in their field to keep evolving. He also wanted them to stoke in the children the spirit of scientific temperament.
“In India a high level of technology is combined with a high level of superstition. The superstitious people are not illiterate. Highly educated people are those who have faith in superstitions and also instil these beliefs in the youth,” he added. Vice-Chancellor G. Thiruvasagam said teachers were those who enhanced the value of human resources by converting them into human assets. “The concept of a teacher has changed. It has come through different shades – from an educator or instructor to inspirer and elevator,” he said.
