AP government cracks whip on JNTUK professors

KAKINADA: The state government has issued a directive to professors, associate professors and assistant professors of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Kakinada (JNTUK) to take their work seriously and begin taking classes in accordance with the UGC guidelines.

JNTUK was a reputed educational institute with many experts in different technical fields forming the core of the faculty. For the past few years, the overall quality of teaching is suffering due to several reasons. Many senior members of the teaching faculty are paying more attention to grabbing key posts and playing internal politics.

Many parents are concerned over the way the institution is going from bad to worse. The whole burden has fallen on the ad hoc teaching faculty, while the experienced regulars played around. Professors take lakhs as salary and yet “doing little of academic work,” it is alleged.

Complaints are that there is little of research-oriented efforts or creation of a scientific temper among the students. The matter came to a head after some parents lodged a complaint with the state government about the drift in JNTUK.

Special chief secretary to the Education department, Satish Chandra, took a serious note of the complaints and issued a directive to the teaching faculty that each of them should teach students at least four hours a week in their respective subjects.

Meanwhile, some directors met Satish Chandra and explained to him the UGC and AICTE guidelines and agreed to take his instruction seriously.

University Vice Chancellor M. Ramalinga Raju said classes are being conducted as per UGC norms and he was monitoring it. University registrar Ch. Satyanarayana said the credit has been reduced to 160 from 220.

According to sources, as per present schedule, the permanent faculty should take classes for at least three hours a week for B.Tech courses and two hours for M.Tech in their respective subjects and attend two lab lessons every week. Not many among students and parents are convinced that the teachers will take the instructions seriously.

JNTUK rector GVR Prasada Raju said strict monitoring would be done from now on. The classes taken by the permanent faculty should be recorded both orally and via CCTV. Sources said the burden on ad hoc faculty will be reduced if this is resorted to.