Problems with NET

The National Eligibility Test for Lectureship (NET) was introduced in 1989 to ensure a common minimum standard for lecturers in colleges and universities across the country. Its raison d'être was to guarantee that lecturers were not only competent but also had an aptitude for teaching. The University Grants Commission conducts the NET every six months in 93 subjects, including languages. Due to various reasons, however, the NET has not succeeded in meeting its objectives.

To begin with, the very format of the test fails to appropriately assess teacher quality. Paper I, common to all candidates, tests their general teaching and research aptitude. Paper II and III deal with the subject chosen by the candidate "" Paper II has multiple-choice questions and Paper III requires detailed answers. However, Paper III is not evaluated unless the candidate clears the first two papers. Paper I covers teaching and research aptitude, reasoning, general knowledge, "people and environment" and so on. Though the previous years' papers are not provided to candidates, the UGC website offers sample questions and answers and one example reads as follows " Effectiveness of teachers depends on A) Qualification of teacher; B) Personality of teacher; C) Handwriting of teacher; D) Subject understanding of teacher. Key: (D)." So, if you don't get multiple-choice questions such as this right, the detailed "subject understanding of teacher" doesn't even get tested, since this is evaluated in Paper III!

Besides, while general knowledge and mathematical reasoning are essential for some subjects, is it really reasonable to expect Sanskrit or French lecturers to know "In which part of India ground water is affected with arsenic contamination?"

Further, a major cause of concern is the dismal pass percentage of the NET at five per cent. Given the inadequate supply of "qualified" candidates, lecturers who have not cleared the NET are employed on contract basis, without regular pay scales and other benefits. Ironically, the very system that the candidates wish to join is not preparing them adequately for the entry barrier.

Another unresolved issue relates to the bi-annual examination system. Often the results of the first test are not declared before the second, and students in Chandigarh protested recently against the injustice created by this anomaly.

Increasing the efficacy of the NET, however, depends largely on changing the examination format "" the effectiveness of a teacher depends not only on her knowledge but equally, if not more significantly, on the method of delivering that knowledge to the students. The candidates should clear their subject papers first, followed by interviews to evaluate their communication skills. There should also be a distinction between lecturers for undergraduate courses and those aspiring to teach postgraduate classes; the latter demands additional depth of knowledge and proven research aptitude.

Last year, the UGC set up a committee, headed by Prof Mungekar of the Planning Commission, to review the "utility, effectiveness and continuity" of this examination. The committee has recently submitted its report to the UGC for consideration, where it is believed to have recommended scrapping the test as a qualifier for lecturers. Hopefully, the UGC will come up with a more relevant scheme that will also focus on the following conundrum: to meet the quality norms that are required, the standard of the candidates has to be raised by teachers whose standard, in turn, leaves much to be desired. A Catch 22 situation indeed!

The writer is advisor, Indicus Analytics.