The Chalk Circle

By ALOK RAI

[This article was first sent to the Indian Express which refused to publish it and was subsequently published on Kafila on 24 November 2010. We have since seen how the successor to the earlier VC decided to carry on the 'inherited battle'.]

Deepak Pental’s inter-personal skills are, of course, legendary. And this last – his parting shot in Indian Express (28 October) – merely strengthens his already formidable reputation, and ensures that he will be regarded with the customary affection even as he leaves. Thus, not only is the Teachers’ Association compared to a khap panchayat – could this conceivably be a compliment, either to his beloved teachers, or to the khap panchayats? – but an entirely gratuitous insult is directed at college teachers, en bloc. Thus, they are stagnant, distant from research, unlike (!) University professors. This is rich, but Professor Pental can manage his own friends and enemies, and I have no desire to engage with him at this point. However, this is being written in the hope that his successor – whoever he or she may be – would at least like to choose their own battles, and not merely fight inherited ones on the bloodied, toxic battlefield bequeathed to them. And, indeed, by way of doing my citizenly duty to assist the honourable judges of the High Court, who are periodically asked to take a stand on the vexed question of “semesterization”.

There is something about the idea of the semester that appeals to the minds of people who have otherwise very little to do with education. (It has a certain appeal to some educated others also – to wit, the grandees of the Knowledge Commission, who are apparently the authors of this current instalment of semester-fever. But with these latter it is at least theoretically possible to have a discussion – even though there are no fora where such discussions could happen. The usual process is that some Moses brings a tablet of wisdom down from the mountain where the gods of the KC abide – and lesser mortals then struggle to interpret and implement the magic formulae.) But to the half-educated, “semesterization” appears like a panacea for the many and undeniable ills of education. Suddenly, as if by magic, syllabi can become flexible – and not be subject to the current, generational cycle. Something like continuous evaluation – and modularized, micro-managed pedagogy – ensures that students and teachers – both groups currently perceived to be slacking off – are forced to work in a closely monitorable format. And in some ideal world – in relatively homogeneous institutions with decent faculty-student ratios, and not vulnerable to the political pressures that make for both sub-standard faculty and sub-standard students – such a “semesterized” solution might even be possible. But if it were possible, I suggest, it would not be necessary. It would be strictly superfluous. Continue reading →