The teachers who are required to undertake refresher and orientation courses are facing serious problems, as the universities have stopped conducting these courses in a large number of subjects. The teachers are required to complete the courses online through the website ‘Swayam’.
The teachers in humanities, arts, commerce and social work have expressed difficulty in understanding the teaching through Swayam. A large number of teachers teach in Marathi or Hindi medium. They also pursued their own education through Marathi or Hindi mediums. The lectures under Swayam are conducted by teachers from IITs or other institutions of higher learning. The lectures are conducted in English. Many teachers stated that the pronunciations of teachers on Swayam are difficult to understand. Many of them are from the Southern part of the country and have a different style of pronouncing words.
Earlier the courses were conducted by the Universities. Under RTM Nagpur University Academic Staff College was mainly responsible for conducting these courses. The teachers who are unable to complete these refresher and orientation courses are deprived of financial and academic progress.
They have demanded that the courses may be conducted again by the universities so that the teachers in senior colleges can complete them in time.
The issue is important as under the new National Education Policy education at all levels is being provided in regional languages. The refresher and orientation courses, however, are not considered under this scheme. A better understanding of teachers would help in improvement in their teaching. Ultimately the students will be benefited.
