DU Teachers Oppose the Vice-Chancellors New System of ‘Students to Evaluate their Teachers’

The decision of Delhi University of letting students to evaluate their teachers has onset various criticisms and a large number of teachers are in oppose to this system of student evaluating their Teachers.

DU Teachers' Association has coined the decision a ‘tit-for-tat approach’ adopted by the "rattled" administration after facing negative feedback of the teacher’s body upon the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP).

The evaluationmove of Vice-Chancellor which has to come into effect from the next semester is being viewed by most as a “regressive” step.

As per the new report, DU students can now evaluate teachers twice or thrice in one semester. These evaluations will then be mentioned in the teachers' files that will lead administration to get influence for making the decision of whether or not to grant the teacher for promotion.

However, naturally teachers of Lady Shri Ram College and many other colleges were seen unhappy with such a system. Some teachers' organizations even claimedagainst this new evaluation system as a - retaliatory move intended to harass teachers.

The published DUTA statementwas inferred as-the teacher’s evaluation decisionis more like a vengeanceof the vice-chancellor against teachers for raising their voice to speak against his un-academic 'reforms'. The reform laid by Vice-chancellor has no academic value but is only in reaction to the adverse students' response from Miranda House, SRCC and St Stephen's College.

DUTA president Nandita Narain claimed that vice-chancellor is so "rattled” after learning the students' feedback published upon FYUP that "he announces teachers' evaluation by students as a tit-for-tat measure".

Most students think of Foundation course, structure, content and projects as lack of providing any knowledge or intellect. More than 90% students studying the foundation course added in their main course gave their preference for a 3-year UG system.

Nandita Narain also added that vice-chancellor wants to transfer his failures upon the teachers and teachers are not afraid of evaluation.

The student evaluation system will be seen as regressive step as teachers could be harassed by students on the basis of their caste, gender, religion and region and this will lead to the rapturing of the teaching process at larger levels. DU’s vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh was not present to comment upon the matter, despite various attempts.