Coimbatore: Teachers in higher education institutions have reiterated their demand for a lenient academic performance indicator (API) system for giving promotions through career advancement scheme.
API system was made mandatory for promotions and other benefits for faculty members of higher education institutions in 2010. It has a universal set of criteria for awarding scores that do not distinguish between teaching and research institutions or between rural and urban institutions, the teachers said.
“As per API requirements, we should publish research papers and conduct seminars. It is more suited for those, who are into full-time research and not into teaching. If teaching faculty focusses on research and publications, they would not have enough time for classwork,” a teacher said.
Teachers said there has to be distinction between purely teaching institutions, purely research institutions and those, which have a mix of both, and the API criteria should be framed based on that.
President of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) N Pasupathy said they have been representing the issue for long. “The API system doesn’t distinguish between rural institutions and urban institutions. It is difficult for faculty members in rural colleges to conduct national seminars. How would they meet the API criteria? It is unfair to have the same yardstick for rural and urban institutions,” he said. “Faculty members of teaching institutions would be unable to focus entirely on research and publication as they have pedagogical activities as well.”
While they were ready to conduct research and publish papers, it should not be forced on them for the sake of promotions and college rankings or it would lead to proliferation of bogus publications and paid journals, the teachers said. “We don’t oppose the system. We want it to be more sensitive towards the practicalities,” said Pasupathy.
While teachers have to rise to the occasion and do research and publications, making them mandatory, linking them with promotions, NAAC accreditation and NIRF rankings would bring down the quality of research and give rise to predatory publishing, said former general secretary of AUT C Pichandy.
The association had recently urged the University Grants Commission and the ministry of human resource development to withdraw the system.
API system was made mandatory for promotions and other benefits for faculty members of higher education institutions in 2010. It has a universal set of criteria for awarding scores that do not distinguish between teaching and research institutions or between rural and urban institutions, the teachers said.
“As per API requirements, we should publish research papers and conduct seminars. It is more suited for those, who are into full-time research and not into teaching. If teaching faculty focusses on research and publications, they would not have enough time for classwork,” a teacher said.
Teachers said there has to be distinction between purely teaching institutions, purely research institutions and those, which have a mix of both, and the API criteria should be framed based on that.
President of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) N Pasupathy said they have been representing the issue for long. “The API system doesn’t distinguish between rural institutions and urban institutions. It is difficult for faculty members in rural colleges to conduct national seminars. How would they meet the API criteria? It is unfair to have the same yardstick for rural and urban institutions,” he said. “Faculty members of teaching institutions would be unable to focus entirely on research and publication as they have pedagogical activities as well.”
While they were ready to conduct research and publish papers, it should not be forced on them for the sake of promotions and college rankings or it would lead to proliferation of bogus publications and paid journals, the teachers said. “We don’t oppose the system. We want it to be more sensitive towards the practicalities,” said Pasupathy.
While teachers have to rise to the occasion and do research and publications, making them mandatory, linking them with promotions, NAAC accreditation and NIRF rankings would bring down the quality of research and give rise to predatory publishing, said former general secretary of AUT C Pichandy.
The association had recently urged the University Grants Commission and the ministry of human resource development to withdraw the system.
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