The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : EFLU teachers to be assessed by students

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Monday, May 19, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

EFLU teachers to be assessed by students

Reports will be submitted to V-C in a sealed envelope; university to offer five-year integrated courses

The reports will remain confidential and accessible only to V-C
Students to have option of leaving course after three years with B.A.(Hons) degree

HYDERABAD: Teachers of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) will now have to get ready to be assessed by their students and the reports will play a key role while considering their re-employment or for special awards, important assignments and conferment of the status of ‘Professor Emeritus’ and the like.

“Teachers have fully supported the idea and it will go a long way in improving the image of the university,” EFLU Vice-Chancellor Abhay Maurya told a press conference here on Sunday.

He said there were enough checks and balances in the concept to avoid misuse. A proforma designed for the assessment reports would allow students to comment on the quality of content of lectures, quality of delivery, degree of updating content, promptness in checking papers, regularity in meeting classes, empathy towards students’ problems and the quality of research guidance.

A special cell in the Vice-Chancellor’s office would handle the confidential assessment under the direct supervision of the V-C. The reports would remain confidential with only the V-C having access to them. Students should submit their views in the prescribed proforma to the V-C directly in a sealed cover. “Perhaps we are the first university to implement this,” Prof. Maurya said.

Stating that EFLU was in for a major change both academically and infrastructure wise, the Vice-Chancellor said they had sought Rs. 353 crore in their proposals submitted to the UGC team under the XIth Plan for the main campus in Hyderabad and were likely to get Rs. 260 crore. EFLU now had 11 schools and 38 departments.

Generating funds

Prof. Maurya was hopeful of generating funds offering programmes for international students. He said 90 students from Saudi Arabia would spend four months on the campus with each student paying $800 per month. Similarly the American Centre was sponsoring 75 students while 90 students would be sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs and they would provide Rs. 70,000 per month. Several such fund generating programmes were also in the pipeline. Moreover, the university also planned to use its press to take up private jobs. It also gets royalty on various books published by it. Promoting distance education would also generate considerable funds, he said.

Terming EFLU as a welfare university, he said all SC and ST students would be exempted from fee apart from getting scholarships. Similar facility would be extended to physically challenged students. In a unique move the university decided not to collect fee from students passing out from the schools run by the government except Kendriya Vidyalayas and Sainik schools. EFLU is also introducing a five-year integrated course in English, Mass Communication, Arabic, French, German, Russian and Spanish from this year.

Prof. Maurya said that the students have an option of leaving the course after three years with a B.A. (Hons) degree or continuing for five years to secure a Masters degree (P.G.). The English course will also be offered at the Lucknow and north east campuses. Next year, the university plans to offer a two-year MA course in English under the distance mode. Further details can be had on www.efluniversity.ac.in.

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