“Because other Social Sciences and Humanities subjects don’t require it, don’t practise it and maths teaching is the same pedagogically. It boils down to not wanting to recognise the needs of a subject…,” the faculty member wrote in a social media post. (Image source: Wikipedia)
A senior mathematics faculty member of Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) has alleged that the university has told the department not to take tutorials or labs for students as there was no pedagogical difference between math and other social science subjects such as history.
The university, however, said it had simply asked the department to “rationalise” the labs and tutorials and make a case for more teaching positions.
“We are being told that pedagogically there is no difference between history and mathematics. This was actually news to me and certainly a new discovery. Maybe history should introduce tutorials for problem solving and computer lab classes to accompany putting theory taught in class into practise… After seven years of BA Honours Mathematics existing at our University, now we have been told don’t take tutorials or labs for maths students. Because other Social Sciences and Humanities subjects don’t require it, don’t practise it and maths teaching is the same pedagogically. It boils down to not wanting to recognise the needs of a subject…,” the faculty member wrote in a social media post.
Dean, Academic Services, Arindam Banerjee, however, said, “The amount of teaching that the math faculty had in terms of tutorials and labs is far in excess in terms of what resources they already have. They’re not being able to manage with the regular faculty they have. It was being managed by hiring some adjunct faculty or visiting fellows. So it was conveyed that they need to make a case for exceptionalism such that new positions can be created for math.”
Vice-Chancellor Shyam Menon did not respond to calls and texts.