Healthy Practices in Institutions of Higher Learning

 

 Healthy Practices in Institutions of Higher Learning

I had certain ideas of what constitute Healthy Practices in a Higher Educational Institution, which I practiced during my tenure of nearly two decades as the Academic and Administrative Head of a State aided 'A’ Grade College in the city of Mumbai.

 

These are some of the healthy academic practices:

 

First, transparency in admissions and conduct of examinations. Making admissions on merit without yielding to any pressure or extraneous consideration.  Whatever criterion is adapted should be applied uniformly to one and all. Even in the management quota, some uniform norm is necessary to ensure transparency. Similarly, examinations conducted and assessment and evaluation must be free from mal-practices. Corrupt and unethical practices with regard to admissions and examinations dent the image and credibility of an institution.

 

Second, academic freedom. It is central to innovation and creativity. Academic autonomy unless percolates down to teaching and administrative staff will result in abuse of authority.  Heads of Institutions and teachers need freedom of action, that serves as a big motivating factor. The tendency to interfere in the working of institutions by the regulating authorities such as the UGC, the AICTE, the University, the Higher Education Department, and the Management will paralyze the institutions. Institutional integrity is paramount. There should be no interference in the day-to-day administrative work from any authority unless there is a prime facie evidence of arbitrary exercise of power. Where is the freedom of action if a Principal has to take orders from the management on every issue? Where is the academic freedom if a teacher has to take prior approval of the Principal for conducting any activity? 

 

Third, delegation of authority. Heads of Institutions must learn to delegate authority to their subordinates, and not concentrate all decision making in their hands.  Once the authority is delegated, they should be allowed to take decisions and act independently.   After all, today’s junior is tomorrow’s senior, capable to handling administrate positions, perhaps more competently and effectively given the opportunity. There are the five cardinal principles of delegation that need to be observed; (a) Receptiveness;(b) Willingness to let go;(c) Willingness to let others make mistakes;(d) Willingness to trust subordinates, and (e) Willingness to establish and use broad controls. The Heads are fond of power, generally do not trust subordinates, and, therefore, reluctant to delegate authority. It is due to fear of losing power and control. Hence, they are more comfortable in dealing directly with juniors, bypassing the authority of their seniors, violating the principle of unity of command, and promoting subservient culture, sycophancy, coterie and groupism.   

 

Fourth, coordination. The test of a good administrative leader is ability to manage institution effectively. Coordination has the dual function of removing conflicts operating at cross purposes within the institution and securing active consent of employees.  The Head of an institution should have an effective channel of communication, and something important to communicate-his ideals and vision. Leadership comes from knowledge and not from position. And if orders of the Head are reasonable, based on hard facts, the people will accept them willingly. That is the art of securing active consent of employees to comply with orders of the Boss without coercion and intimidation. The failure to resolve conflicts is a sign of weak and incompetent leadership.

 

Fifth, team work. Building an institution is a team work, wherein every employee performs to his or her full potential. The Heads are supposed to take courses in the principles of management and administration.  Yet, ironically, they seem to learn nothing about how to manage people. The Heads, by and large, are autocratic and authoritarian in their style of functioning. They don’t promote democratic culture of discussion and consultation and of taking inputs from cross sections of institution before making major policy decisions.

 

The liberal democratic temperament has more to do with training and cultivation of mind. The autocratic mindset is the product of a feeling of inadequacy and sense of insecurity. The Heads expect total obedience from the people working under them, otherwise they feel threatened.  It is important that teachers and subordinate staff develop a sense of belonging and affinity towards the Institution, if they have to be loyal and committed to its growth and development.  This is possible only when they are respected, and their work is recognized and appreciated

 

Sixth, campus discipline. The success of any Institution depends on campus discipline. It is not a regimented military discipline.  What is required is an ethical code of conduct from every section of the institution- the students, the teachers, the administrative staff, the management and the Head. The failure to check mass absenteeism of students from class rooms, and inability to curb rank indiscipline among the staff damages reputation of the institution, undermining the authority of the Head.  It is imperative to follow the policy of ‘carrot and stick’ in rewarding and penalizing people, leaving no scope for favoritism and nepotism, in order to inspire and motivate and weed- out the dead-wood.

 

There are several instances of so-called reputed institutions, where teachers address practically empty class rooms- making highly qualified teachers redundant- getting ‘A’ + Grades from the NAAC, reducing the whole accreditation process to a farce. The NAAC ratings and Grades are often ‘managed’. Look at the credibility of accreditation by the NAAC: the University of Mumbai has 368 approved teaching posts, as per the answer given in the University’s Senate meeting recently.  Out of which, only 146 posts are filled, with as many as 222 posts lying vacant, badly affecting the teaching and the research.  And yet the NAAC has awarded A++ Grade to the University, leaving the academics in a tizzy.

 

Seventh, effective grievance redressal mechanism. There should be a sound mechanism of redressing grievances of teachers, administrative staff and students in a fair and transparent manner. Any complaint should be investigated impartially without prejudice, giving the accused a fair chance to defend his position, as complaints quite often are frivolous and mala   fide, and not based on actual facts. Any arbitrary dispersal of justice will have a castigating effect, affecting the morale of employees, weakening the administrative apparatus, and people losing faith in the system.

 

And finally, publishing magazine and prospectus regularly at the end of every academic year.  People don’t realise how important they are.  A college magazine is a record of activities and events-containing various features and articles- for posterity. Similarly, a comprehensive prospectus, giving details of various courses, intake, teaching and non-teaching staff, criteria for admissions, mode of examinations and penalties for examination related mal- practices and the like will go a long way in building a positive image of the institution. This also, in a way, fulfills the requirement of making all vital information relating to the institution available in public domain, as per Section 4 of the RTI Act, thereby making it less susceptible to public scrutiny.

 

During my 18 years tenure as the Principal, we published 18 issues of the college magazine The Kandivlite that had many attractive and interesting features. It was very popular.  We ensured that the magazine, the prospectus, the marksheets of various examinations and the admission forms were given to the students on the last working day of the academy year, which was generally 30^th April, without any exception. And also made it a point to declare the results of all the examinations on the same day.  It was a sort of festive atmosphere in the campus, practically everyone excited and looking forward to the day. This practice, considered one of the best academic practices, had contributed to building a good image of the college.

 

These were some of the principles that I judicially practiced, keeping impeccable personal integrity and holding the head high, promoting a healthy academic culture, and the college emerging as a model of high academic standards and campus discipline.  It is my firm belief that unless the Head of an Institution is above the board- honest, sincere and incorrupt- all the talk of healthy academic practices and leveraging technology will fall flat and remain an empty rhetoric.  And last, but not the least, unwieldy expansion of the institution by adding all sorts of unsustainable self-financing and add-on courses, resulting in commercialization, putting the teaching and non-teaching staff under tremendous pressure, besides exposing the crumbling infrastructure and unqualified faculty, ultimately affecting the quality of education, is not a healthy practice.