Hyderabad: Mixed response from varsity faculty on coaching classes

Hyderabad: There is a mixed response from the university faculty members to the proposal to rope in them to conduct coaching classes to prepare students for the competitive examinations.

In the just-concluded second meeting of the eight-session of the State Assembly, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had announced filling of 80,039 posts in various government departments for which job notifications are to be issued soon.

The government has asked the vice-chancellors of the State universities to organise coaching classes for students of their respective universities to prepare them to take the competitive examinations in the wake of the government's decision to fill vacancies in various departments.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior faculty member of Mahatma Gandhi University, Nalgonda said, "The classroom teaching imparted to students varies at large while strategically preparing them for the group examinations."

According to the government, the vacancies positions announced are: 503 Group-I, 582 Group-II, 1,373 Group-III and 9,168 Group IV.

The university faculty views that they have to get themselves oriented first. To prepare students for the test models of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) Group- I, II, III and IV.

Srinivas Reddy (name changed), an arts faculty, Kakatiya University, Warangal, pointed out, "There are 11-13 topics related to history, culture, geography, Indian Constitution, society and governance, economy and development, science & technology, Telangana movement to State formation, environmental & disaster management, Indian polity & government, modern Indian history & Indian national movement."

"Faculty members can handle them academically." However, to prepare students, like in coaching centres, on issues like data interpretation, current affairs, numerical and arithmetical abilities, verbal and non-verbal modes of mental ability, logical reasoning, several faculty members remain handicapped."

"Except for a few topics, like logical reasoning and data interpretation, which are taught as part of social sciences research methodology, the faculty members might end up being incompetent if students fail to score well in the examinations after being coached by the university faculty. In turn, the outcome of students in competitive examinations will have an impact on perception of credibility of the faculty.

However, dismissing these apprehensions, a senior official of Osmania University said, "What we are doing is to help and see our students in big positions. Many students study Vijetha Guides, and the like, to prepare for the Service Commission examinations. They won't get selected even if they read them hundred times." "We are expected to provide a comprehensive understanding from the academic point of view. It will help a student to answer properly a question from a given topic presented to him in any manner. Certainly, we are not going to work like those coaching centres in Ashoknagar."

We are yet to receive the modalities from the government. Once they are received, we will be deciding on how to run the classes and the time frame for the same," he added.