THE accountability of teachers is now in focus. Calcutta University recently worked out a set of rules to ensure that teachers spend adequate time in colleges in keeping with the guidelines announced by the West Bengal government for implementation of the career advancement scheme. Chiefly, it mentions presence on the campus for six days a week instead of five to make it at least 40 hours a week. Regretfully, the code of professional ethics, that was long ago prepared by the UGC, is yet to be implemented by colleges and universities. Academic motivation would seem to be at a discount vis-a-vis teachers in the centres of higher education. Improvement in the quality of higher education is now a matter of concern in India. It covers nearly 6 per cent of the population in the 17-23 age group. The National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) has assigned a specially important role to teachers. In its reckoning, a teacher should be a person who takes up teaching as a profession not merely to teach in the classroom but also to be an agent of social change. In the document entitled “Challenge of Education: A policy perspective (1985)”, the Union HRD ministry states: “Teacher performance is the most crucial input in the field of education, implemented by teachers as much through their personal example as through teaching-learning processes”. The NCTE has recommended that a teacher in today's information age must have a commitment to the learner, commitment to the society, commitment to the profession, commitment to achieve excellence and a commitment to basic human values. This will enable him to work efficiently and cater to the needs of the technological society to prove himself as a “knowledge-worker”. The new plan envisages that teachers will be primarily oriented towards teaching, putting research on the back-burner. The entity that grants funds is silent on the sanction of staff and infrastructure. As regards upgradation of the existing departments and strengthening of resources, the authorities are yet to come up with a viable solution. Even the Kothari Commission has complained about the deteriorating standards. There is no denying that the quality of education depends primarily on the quality of teachers, the syllabus, the teaching methodology, the standard of evaluation and infrastructure. Some years ago, the Mitra Commission in West Bengal attributed the declining standards to the inherited system and the curriculum of a rigidly-framed syllabus. “Most colleges are known to be lacking in library and laboratory facilities, playground and sufficient number of classrooms,” was the commission's observation. Complaints are often heard against the frequent holidays and vacations in our colleges. But certain factors militate against increasing the number of working days in colleges. Classrooms are often used for holding university, state PSC or UPSC examinations, meetings and conventions, general elections and various other functions. Academic activities are affected during the admission season, students’ union elections, strikes, bandhs and demonstrations. No wonder that a parallel private tuition-oriented system is thriving. The academic guardians are not in a position to identify the wrong-doers, let alone take punitive measures. The authorities must ensure that attendance of teachers is mandatory and properly recorded; that every college has a principal and an adequate number of teachers; that teachers are suitable enough to adjust to changes in syllabus; and that the number of part-time, contractual and guest teachers is curbed. The teachers must be responsible enough to abide by the code of conduct. This includes taking classes for at least five hours every working day and 10 hours of non-academic work a week. Unless teaching is regarded as a profession, the faculties will not be able to fulfil their role as teachers. Various educational innovations, such as restructuring of courses, introduction of examination reforms, making programmes relevant to the social environment and the needs of the community, and developing new ideas can be followed up only if the teachers accept a progressive outlook on education. Indeed, lack of work culture among non-academic staff is a major obstacle to progress in the field of education. Essentially, this is a problem of attitude. Besides, there are flaws in the system itself which are seldom subjected to a review. The financial outlay on higher education by the Centre and the states is a small percentage of the total public expenditure. The policy-makers are more interested in raising the level of literacy, popularise vocational training and make education broad-based. In the net, higher education is not accorded the priority it deserves. Budgets of colleges and universities have been drastically curtailed. Even in the science faculties, laboratory facilities are deteriorating in the absence of maintenance. It would be pertinent to refer to the rights and status of teachers incorporated in the ILO document (1984). This covers the status of teachers, modern aids for teaching, provision for teachers in rural or remote areas, of free housing and special travel facilities to maintain professional standards. It would appear that the bane of the higher education system is not only the teacher; it also reflects the failure of the government to maintain the academic environment and academic standards. If academic entities are controlled by political protégés and that too mediocre ones, then higher education is bound to languish in a terrain of unmitigated mediocrity. The fact of the matter is that higher education is still a luxury in our country. Unfortunately, our limited resources and manpower are being frittered away, resulting in devaluation of standards and academic integrity. Teachers cannot afford to ignore the imperative of accountability. Hopefully, their presence for 40 hours a week will benefit education in the long run. An honest effort towards a worthy cause is bound to yield positive results. The writer is Associate Professor, Department of English, Gurudas College, Kolkata

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