“Some of the top colleges of Delhi University operate on reputation alone. This is mostly because teachers fail to show up for classes.” Information like this, said Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh, prompted him to pay a surprise visit to North Campus colleges. This resulted in show-cause notices for “indifferent and sloppy” teachers and no small discomfiture for the principals on Tuesday.
“This is only the beginning. Principals who are not willing to be strict with their teachers will also be getting show-cause notices soon,” warned Prof. Singh at the end of the visit, which began at 9 a.m. in Hindu College.
Some classrooms had students but no teachers and the university officials were upset that time-tables were not displayed outside classrooms. “Only a few decimal points lesser than 100 per cent was the asking per cent to get into the Commerce course here” – this was quoted again and again by the V-C entourage whenever there was a teacher missing in Hindu College.
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Principal Pradyum Kumar was ordered to issue show-cause notices to three teachers who were missing from their classes without reason.
Prof. Singh randomly entered classes and asked students what they felt about the new foundation classes. The students said they had learnt whatever the university was trying to teach several years ago, and were not taking too well to the time-consuming project work. Prof. Singh had the solution ready. “We are giving you free laptops and Internet, so soon research and homework will be easier.”
The situation turned grim in Hans Raj College. Five teachers were missing from classes without reason and Principal V.K. Kawatra was ordered to issue show-cause notices to all of them. Here again, the V-C walked into classes at random, taking impromptu math classes whenever the students complained that they didn’t want to learn “prime numbers” again after all the trouble they had taken to learn it in Class V.
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“Don’t look at the foundation courses with disdain, open your minds,” advised Prof. Singh.