Values and Ethics in Teaching Profession

‘The system of Higher education is in crisis. There are more than 40,000 institutions, most of them of average or indifferent quality. Only about 20% of graduates from these institutions have been found to be employable. Private institutions have proliferated and many of them are of substandard quality. High capitation fees are charged for admission to engineering and medical courses. Corruption is common for getting approvals and recognitions. Political patronage and influence is all pervasive.’
‘The present system of appointing vice chancellors has become prone to manipulation, which militates against the appointment of competent persons as VC with vision and leadership. Many Vice-Chancellors are known to be political appointees and quite willing to accommodate pressures and outside influence in the management of universities.’ The quality of research conducted in most Universities is unsatisfactory. Since possessing a Ph.D. has virtually become necessity for faculty recruitment, a large number of institutions have sprung up offering poor quality Ph.D. on a commercial basis.’
“Instances of students scoring 90% and more in board exams and performing poorly in subsequent entrance tests for technical and other courses raise doubts about the credibility of paper setting as well as the board’s evaluation.” The earlier policies of 1968 and 86/92 had recommended creation of an All India Education Service. This matter can no longer be delayed. An Indian education service (IES) should be established as an all India service with officers being on a permanent settlement to the state governments but with the cadre controlling authority vesting with the ministry of human resource development. Persons from IES would progressively occupy higher level policy posts at the Centre and in the States; the services of IES officers could also be loaned to universities and other national and state-level education institutions. It is proposed that recruitment to IES should be done through UGC”. “Value inculcation is essential to promote equality, social justice, tolerance and national integration.Truth(Satya), Righteous Conduct(Dharma), Peace(Shanti), Love(Prem) and NonViolence(Ahinsa) are the core universal values which provide the foundation for a value-based education system.
Value education has to be made an integral part of education at all levels. Teachers, parents and community leaders have to play a major role in instilling good values among students”.
(Extracted from National Education Policy on Education, 2016 Report of the Committee for Evolution of the ‘New Education Policy’)
The report just to update the readers but most crucial is: are we very sincerely thinking of reforming the state of education in India on above the lines? What makes a great teacher?
Teaching is one of the most complicated jobs today which demands broad knowledge of subject matter, curriculum, and standards; enthusiasm, a caring attitude, and a love of learning; knowledge of discipline and classroom management techniques; and a desire to make a difference in the lives of young people. At higher stage it’s upgrading from teaching to learning, with all these qualities required, it’s no wonder that it’s hard to find great teachers. Let’s enumerate the qualities of great teachers:
• Great teachers set high expectations for all students and do lead them in the same direction.
• Great teachers have clear, written-out objectives.
• Great teachers are prepared and organized and walk the talk.
• Great teachers engage students and get them to look at issues in a variety of ways.
• Great teachers form strong relationships with their students and care about them as their own children.
• Great teachers are very good learners in their own way.
• Great teachers show the right path to the right students and unfold their potentials.
Politics in campus, corruption in appointing top brass at the helm of higher academic institutions, poor quality of research, rote learning, erratic valuation system and absence of value education are the basic maladies of our education system today.