Dr. Rajpal S. Hande, Principal – Mithibai College, Vile Parle, tells Shraddha Kamdar what the different stakeholders in higher education – students, teachers, parents and institutions – can do to enhance the learning process.
He is a person who has worked in many capacities in conjunction with many bodies and institutions. Who better then, to talk about student development from every angle, since he has a vast experience of not only dealing with the students, but also the faculty as well as the system. He has served as the Director of the Board of Colleges & University Development, University of Mumbai and is a former Member Secretary, Board of University Teaching and research, University of Mumbai. Currently he is also serving as a Senate Member in the Management Council, Academic Council, University of Mumbai. Knowledge presents an exclusive interview with Dr. Rajpal S. Hande, Principal – Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan Institute of Science and Amrutben Jivanlal College of Commerce and Economics, Vile Parle. Excerpts from an interview:
At the outset, Dr. Hande mentions that students should understand that learning happens at several levels in a college. “When students spend more time in college, they develop a better bonding with the college. The college is not only there to cover the syllabus. It is an institution which enables overall development of the students. Here, besides from their teachers in the classroom, students learn from their peers, the ambience, the extra-curricular activities as well as the different sections of people they interact with,” he says.
He also mentions that often, the students of the commerce stream spend fewer hours in the college in comparison to their counterparts of the arts and science streams. This is simply because for arts and science, there are practical sessions, and not for commerce. “So often the commerce students come to college only looking for a degree, which enables them to look for a job later. That attitude, I think, should change,” he says. In the interim, he gracefully silences his constantly buzzing phone, focussing entirely on the interview.
Speaking of changing mindsets, Dr. Hande feels that not only for the students, but the mindsets of the parents and the teachers also need to undergo a few changes. “Parents feel that their children should go to college only for the degree, which puts a kind of only a secondary emphasis on the college. That leads to attendance issues as well. Parents should lay full emphasis on the college, and not allow their children to skip classes often. As long as they are within the 75% limit, they will be fine,” he narrates. He also mentions that if students feel the need to supplement their learning at a coaching class, they should do so in their own time, not at the cost of the college. His only question to students of colleges like Mithibai is that when the college is has created a conducive atmosphere along with well qualified and experienced teachers, why do the students not aim for high attendance? He mentions that the classrooms are modern and air-conditioned, the cafeteria is large and serves as a space for students to mingle and the other facilities like the common rooms and the library are well maintained. “They have everything here, they should in fact not feel like complaining at all!”
Along with changing the parents’ mindset, Dr. Hande feels that the mindset of the teachers should be geared towards motivating the students to come to class. “I always tell my teacher colleagues that I will hold them responsible if the students don’t show up. I feel that teachers should introspect first as to why students are not coming, and if need be even interrogate the students to find some answers. If there is reason to change, a teacher should be open to changing,” he opines. He also says that teachers should remember that in this globalised era students are also well informed, thanks to the internet, and that’s why teachers need to prepare themselves for an environment that changes every hour!
“In my view, students are getting information from the internet, which needs to be converted into knowledge. It is the teacher’s responsibility to harness this information into knowledge and every teacher should take this responsibility. Along with that, students should also come to class to gain from this conversion and understand the difference. This will make them field involved, and motivate them to come to class,” Dr. Hande suggests.
After he finishes talking about the mindsets, I steer the conversation back to what he said about coaching classes. “You see the difference in the term? The term itself says it is ‘coaching’. That means that the coaching classes are going to attract students only to score marks, not overall development. Unfortunately, the system is such that students rush for marks, not for knowledge. I don’t blame the students, for at that moment they see the need for marks. As I mentioned before, students should not skip college to attend classes, but take classes as a supplement, something like doing homework. At least in that manner, the two can coexist in a student’s life.”
Talking of marks, Dr. Hande says that the new credit-based grading system will at least bring about a small change in the race for marks, but overall, he feels it unfortunate that student have to fight for less than half a mark, especially at the class 12 level. “Somewhere, the system also needs changes, but we are compromised because of the large numbers. Mumbai University caters to over seven lakh students in 740 affiliated colleges and 57 departments. These numbers are effectively not even comparable to any international university,” he says. He mentions that it is the reason why the education system has developed in sort of a filtering system, and the race for marks is on.
Even in such an environment, Dr. Hande feels that there are several things that a college can do for its students, including providing an atmosphere conducive to learning. “Colleges should be student-friendly. What do I mean? If students are using technology, colleges should also use technology effectively for teaching, learning, and disseminating information. We have the Blackboard technology which connects over 12,000 students and teachers. I can connect with all my teachers with this technology as well – it is just a simple app on the mobile. Teachers can offer lessons online as well. In addition to that, colleges should provide what the learner wants!” he concludes.
