Lecturers in degree colleges and universities will soon have to take videos of some of their lectures, which will be reviewed by an internal committee and then submitted to the Higher Education Department.
The move aims to bring about accountability and improve teaching quality and learning outcomes. A circular issued by the Deputy Secretary, Higher Education, on Wednesday said that the lecturers would have to record and submit one lecture per week, but does not mention when the initiative will kick-off.
Sources in the department said that the committee would give feedback to the faculty on how they could improve their lectures. Every university and college under the purview of the department would have to comply with this rule and also form special committees to review the lectures. “This will motivate lecturers to prepare for the classes and will ultimately benefit students. It will also help the department chalk out training programmes and design suitable interventions after going through the recordings,” a source said.
H. Prakash, president, Karnataka Government College Teachers’ Association, welcomed the move and said it would help the department identify lecturers who could be role models for their peers. “Many teachers still do not use technology or teaching aids. Hopefully, this move will help them make the shift,” he said. However, the move has been criticised by faculty members, who feel that quality education cannot be achieved until basic infrastructural requirements are met with.
“Many colleges do not even have access to technology, and all we can afford to do is to get it recorded on mobile phones. This will be of poor quality. What is the purpose of the initiative,” a lecturer working in a government first grade college in Bengaluru said.
University authorities said that it would be “cumbersome” to look through hours of footage and suggest points for improvement.
