P Bhaskaran Nayar, former professor of Lincoln University, UK, speaks on the glaring difference between the education system in India and abroad
by Athul Lal A G
Kozhikode: Every year, when winter begins to engulf London, he flies down to the warmth of Kozhikode. Roosted in a cosy apartment on the sixth floor of Skyline Apartments, facing the beach, he becomes one among Kozhikodens, though he is really not. Sometimes there are heated discussions with friends in Kozhikode or interactions with college students in the city. And occasionally, he reviews those research papers which are sent by foreign universities before flying back home after two or three months.
Meet P Bhaskaran Nayar, former professor of Lincoln University, UK, who has been adopting the life of a migratory bird for the past five years. Nayar was born in Myanmar, brought up in Ottapalam, Palakkad, studied in Guruvayoorappan College and Victoria College, Palakkad, and started his career as an English teacher at St Albert's College, Kochi. He has taught English in various universities of six different countries in a span of 48 years. Now, the septuagenarian possesses a British citizenship. His family is settled in London.
His first stint abroad was in Ethiopia with the Ministry of Education. After nine years, he worked in Papua New Guinea, the United States and Singapore and finally settled in London.
So, what brings you to Kozhikode? ``Actually, I had no affiliation with Kozhikode, except for the fact that I was a student of Guruvayoorappan College. But, after retirement I wanted to spend some time in Kerala and somehow, I chose Kozhikode,'' says Nayar, who looks very much like a Malayali, but speaks exactly as a Brit, if not better.
"Having joined as a faculty with a foreign university, I felt pity for the students I taught in Kerala and at the Bombay University. I found that teaching was entirely different and relevant abroad. As teachers, we needed to constantly update our knowledge about the subject and share the inputs to students. We had to publish at least one article every year. Unfortunately, here, we still follow the age-old way of teaching textbooks alone. Nothing more and nothing less. Students are cramped with information, but they are totally ignorant of its applicability. They learn for the sake of obtaining certificates,'' says Nayar.
And what would you suggest? ``A total revamp of higher education,'' Nayar says, instantaneously. ``For, the British had designed this education system here then only to make sure that they had sufficient number of clerks to serve in government offices,'' he adds.
Nayar wants the affiliated college system to be discontinued. ``You need at least 30 universities for a million people. More importantly, the colleges under a university should be within a radius of five miles. In the present set-up, universities have shrunk to administrative bodies with too many affiliated colleges. Neither do they control education nor its quality,'' he notes.
But, there are people who have become successful in life after passing out from these universities. ``That is because they were good in spite of the system and were highly adaptable,'' he says.
Nayar is also disappointed about the fact that libraries are largely underutilised. ``When I ask students here about how many times they have been to a library, they hesitate and say one or two. That is not their fault, but of the system. A few years ago, I sent letters to all the universities in the state, expressing my interest in donating my books for free. Believe it or not, nobody responded,'' says Nayar, who latter donated the books to Malabar Christian College.
About future plans, can we expect a book or an autobiography? ``Not really. Currently, I am editing journals for the Canadian English Language Teaching journal. No major plans. Just to go on with this routine,'' Nayar, who had been a regular columnist in Ethiopian Herald, signs off.
(The New Indian Express City Express Jan 22, 2014)
by Athul Lal A G
Kozhikode: Every year, when winter begins to engulf London, he flies down to the warmth of Kozhikode. Roosted in a cosy apartment on the sixth floor of Skyline Apartments, facing the beach, he becomes one among Kozhikodens, though he is really not. Sometimes there are heated discussions with friends in Kozhikode or interactions with college students in the city. And occasionally, he reviews those research papers which are sent by foreign universities before flying back home after two or three months.
Meet P Bhaskaran Nayar, former professor of Lincoln University, UK, who has been adopting the life of a migratory bird for the past five years. Nayar was born in Myanmar, brought up in Ottapalam, Palakkad, studied in Guruvayoorappan College and Victoria College, Palakkad, and started his career as an English teacher at St Albert's College, Kochi. He has taught English in various universities of six different countries in a span of 48 years. Now, the septuagenarian possesses a British citizenship. His family is settled in London.
His first stint abroad was in Ethiopia with the Ministry of Education. After nine years, he worked in Papua New Guinea, the United States and Singapore and finally settled in London.
So, what brings you to Kozhikode? ``Actually, I had no affiliation with Kozhikode, except for the fact that I was a student of Guruvayoorappan College. But, after retirement I wanted to spend some time in Kerala and somehow, I chose Kozhikode,'' says Nayar, who looks very much like a Malayali, but speaks exactly as a Brit, if not better.
"Having joined as a faculty with a foreign university, I felt pity for the students I taught in Kerala and at the Bombay University. I found that teaching was entirely different and relevant abroad. As teachers, we needed to constantly update our knowledge about the subject and share the inputs to students. We had to publish at least one article every year. Unfortunately, here, we still follow the age-old way of teaching textbooks alone. Nothing more and nothing less. Students are cramped with information, but they are totally ignorant of its applicability. They learn for the sake of obtaining certificates,'' says Nayar.
And what would you suggest? ``A total revamp of higher education,'' Nayar says, instantaneously. ``For, the British had designed this education system here then only to make sure that they had sufficient number of clerks to serve in government offices,'' he adds.
But, there are people who have become successful in life after passing out from these universities. ``That is because they were good in spite of the system and were highly adaptable,'' he says.
Nayar is also disappointed about the fact that libraries are largely underutilised. ``When I ask students here about how many times they have been to a library, they hesitate and say one or two. That is not their fault, but of the system. A few years ago, I sent letters to all the universities in the state, expressing my interest in donating my books for free. Believe it or not, nobody responded,'' says Nayar, who latter donated the books to Malabar Christian College.
About future plans, can we expect a book or an autobiography? ``Not really. Currently, I am editing journals for the Canadian English Language Teaching journal. No major plans. Just to go on with this routine,'' Nayar, who had been a regular columnist in Ethiopian Herald, signs off.
(The New Indian Express City Express Jan 22, 2014)
