Each central university to have Academic Staff College.
The ASC and UGC-RCC programmes are confined to teachers working in colleges recognized under Section 2(f) and 12B of the UGC Act, which constitute less than 30 % of the total teachers of about 4.5 lakhs in the country. Certainly the programmes of the ASC and UGC-RCC must be opened up to all teachers working in institutions of higher education in this country, including those in self-financing institutions. In case, the number of participants in a particular state exceeds the number, which can be accommodated in the academic staff colleges of that state, then, such aspirants for training may be permitted to take courses in other states as well.
Participation of academic staff at all levels (not just up to Reader’s level) in the courses offered by the Academic Staff Colleges should be made compulsory. In other words, participation in these courses need not be linked only to eligibility for promotion.
The courses designed by the Academic Staff Colleges should be reviewed at regular intervals in order to dovetail them to the changing needs in the context of globalization.
Since UGC is concerned with institutions of higher learning and research and also since teaching and research should be considered as complementary to one another, the research institutions of national importance such as those coming under the purview of ICSSR, ICMR, ICAR, etc, should also be considered eligible to conduct refresher courses and programmes that are supported under the framework of ASCs. Care should be taken to avoid overlap while ensuring fuller utilization of the resources available with the research institutions.
The methodology of the ASC teaching programs must be changed. The existing training programs are mainly lecture based (more than 6 hours a day and 6 days in a week) and the teachers find it boring and uninteresting. The lecture-based programs must be changed to lecture cum self-study approach. The teachers may be asked to prepare term papers on the lecture topics and present and discuss those in the classroom. An action component may be integrated with the contents of the program.
The ASC programs are currently of three weeks duration. As many institutions are moving towards the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), granting leave to a teacher for three weeks (20 % of a semester teaching time) would affect the teaching work. A modular approach may be introduced. That is, the entire program may be divided into 5-10 modules and one module can be taken up each week, preferably during Friday and Saturday, so that an orientation or refresher course can be completed in a semester.
The participants must undergo rigorous examination (both written and oral) to be eligible to receive the certificates.
The ASC must expand its activities and train non-teaching staff also.
Both teaching and non-teaching staff must be trained in e-governance and ICT so that the Universities and Colleges can adopt these developments in administration as well as in teaching.
Suitable changes may be introduced in the UGC Guidelines for ASC keeping in mind the recent experiences of the ASCs themselves. A study may be initiated to compile and analyze the responses from the ASCs on a census basis. Information may be gathered regarding the constitution of the Advisory Committee for ASCs, delegation of powers, composition of participants from within and outside the states, norms for expenditures on different heads and introduction of some flexibility in this regard, honorarium to the faculty, coordinator, expenditure on teaching learning material, TA, DA, ASC building expenditures, etc.
A suitable mechanism for ongoing evaluation of the entire program of Academic Staff Colleges should be evolved instead of one time review of the program.
The important recommendations of the Review Committee of Academic Staff Colleges of 2004 deserve serious consideration.
The Academic Staff Colleges should design courses for academic and non-academic staff even before they enter the service. The completion of at least one such pre-service course can be considered as a pre-condition for entering the higher education service.
Academic Staff Colleges should be started in regions and institutions wherever such facilities are not available.
In view of the newer challenges and also considering the inflationary trends, the group recommends a step up in the per participant expenditure from Rs.5000 to Rs.10,000. This may provide the basis for estimating the total financial requirements of the program during the XI Plan.
