जागो, सोचो..

The team led by Dr Masood has submitted its recommendations including others, on designating us like Prof, Asso Prof and Assistant Prof in Distance Education.

But it seems some colleagues are not happy with that and want them to be called as Prof of their own discipline. This is not good, as it leads to division of opinion.Do you think the teachers of schools will let this happen. You have served in this Division for so many years and now if you want to be called as Prof of, say, Chemistry, will the other Professors of Chemistry would let you be designated like that.Better let the recommendations of the sub-commmittee be implemented. No one is going to stop you to do your work (if you really want to do it, I really wonder on this, how many of us have done some research in their own discipline) in your discipline even if you are the Prof, Asso Prof or Asst Prof of Distance Education.Right time to stand united, else, repeat Rupam.... thou shall fall....thou shall not rise..forever...then doomed to be fall// and donot blame then others////Socho and Jago.....rather... Jago and Socho and hone do....

RC

An anonymous, but strong stand

Infact,we are beating around the bush.

We are reffering to different Circulars issued from time to time from ACD to put our legitimate claims to the authorities.At the same time learned collegues are also scanning the core meaning of Distance Education vis a vis meaning of teaching learning activities being undertaken by us to further convey that we including the teahers are one and the same in terms of extending student support services to our learners.

Now its high time.Let us chalkout a concrete action plan of non coperation to make our need and importance felt in the day today functioning of the University in relation to the student support services.

Anonymous

Theories won't do

I firmly believe that first of all let us get our career safely secured. The definitions of DE, E<>>>whatever>> there are over thousand terms floating around, are not going to give us our long pending dues.

I think we again and again get distracted from main issue. Sometimes back many of us were jumping and thumping to thank a student for waking us all from deep sleep! Why donot we focus our attention just only one (mind you ONE ... ONLY ONE) issue of our career. Stop wasting time and resources in talking on futile things. Get the CAS, and rest things will be settled then.

As Dr Rupam rightly said, if thou shall fall this time, thou shall not rise again.

Dr. R. C. Sharma

A theoretical approach to the issue of discrimination

Friends,

 As we see from the postings made by Dr. Ranjan, there is really no administrative or legal basis for the discriminatory policies being followed. Are we then victims of perception?

 The other day, a mail from a Programme Coordinator (I am sure all of you have seen it) addressed to the RDs said, ‘You are the prime link between me and my students’. I read the mail again and again and tried to make sense of the message. The Programme Coordinator claimed a special relation with the students, to the complete exclusion of everyone else.  But let us not feel surprised – this is only a reflection of the prevalent mindset.

 Let us approach this issue from a purely theoretical angle. Let’s look at some definitions of distance education:

 I

Distance Education  is a planned and systematic activity which comprises the choice, didactic preparation and presentation of teaching material as well as supervision and support of student learning and which is achieved by bridging the physical distance between student and teacher by means of at least one appropriate technical medium (Delling)

 

II

 

Distance education  is a systematically organized form of self-study in which student counselling, the presentation of learning material and securing and supervising students’ success is carried out by a team of teachers, each of whom has responsibilities. It is made possible at a distance by means of media, which can cover long distances (Dohman).

 

III

 

Distance teaching/education is a method of imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes which is rationalized by the application of division of labour and organizational principle as well as by extensive use of technical media, especially for the purpose of reproducing high quality teaching materials which makes it possible to instruct great numbers of students at the same time wherever they live. It is an industrialized form of learning (Peters).

 

IV

 

The term ‘distance education’ covers the various forms of study at all levels which are not under continuous, immediate supervision of tutors present with their students in lecture rooms on the same premises, but which, nevertheless, benefit from the planning, guidance and tuition of a tutorial organization (Hölmberg).

 

 

Definition-I considers presentation of teaching material and supervision/support of student learning equally important.

 

Definition-II refers to a Team of Teachers each of whom has responsibilities – student counselling, presentation of learning material, supervising student’s success etc. By implication, all those who are entrusted with such responsibilities, are teachers in a distance education framework.

 

Definition-III refuses to give credit any one person or group of persons.

 

Definition-IV suggests that it the institution as a whole, (consisting of persons involved in planning, guiding and tutoring) that supports the learning process.

 

These definitions have shaped distance education worldwide, and they do not distinguish between people engaged in preparing the learning material and people engaged in planning and providing learner support.

 

At IGNOU, however, all this appears irrelevant and of no consequence. As the world’s largest (or one of the largest, as you like) open university, are our policymakers setting a healthy trend? What are they being guided by? Larger institutional interests or parochial, jaundiced vision?

 

We invite the entire academic community to reflect and respond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

बाद में रोने पछताने से कोई फायदा नहीं

भाई साहब लोग,

हम लोगों का कैस और प्रमोशन का केस तब तक नहीं होगा, जब तक मैनेजमेंट या टीचर को दर्द (हमारा) महसूस नहीं होगा. अब सवाल ये है कि ये दर्द महसूस कैसे हो. आप सब तो ये एक्सामिनेशन करवाने में मस्त हो. ये वाला एक्साम भी हो जायेगा. एक्साम की अगली गाड़ी ६ महीने के बाद आएगी. इस तरह आप लोगों की जिन्दगी पूरी हो जायेगी. मस्त रहो... मस्त॥///

बात दर्द की थी. दर्द या तो महसूस होता है या करवाया जाता है. ACD के लैटर में (जो गुजराल जी को दिया गया है) कमिटी की बात हो रही है. अब कमिटी तो तब बनाईं जाती है जब कोई डिसीजन न लेना हो.डेमोक्रेसी डेमोक्रेसी करते करते, कहीं ३१ जुलाई न आ जाये. कुछ होतो कर लो, नहीं तो विदाई समारोह की तय्यारी ही ठीक है.कोई टीचर है हम लोगों का साथ देने के लिए? किसी को चिंता नहीं है. हम लोग किसके भरोसे पर बैठे हैं?

डॉ आर सी शर्मा