VIVA: ZERO COMPLAINT AND NO GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE, A NEW APPROACH

VIVA: ZERO COMPLAINT AND NO GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE, A NEW APPROACH

[WRITTEN FORMAT, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EVALUATION PROCEDURE]

Viva-Voce examination as one of the stereotype components of the evaluation procedure at the end of the semester is one activity which affects the grades of the students in real erratic manner. Neither students nor teachers are ever confident of their individual performances. The earned grades are not the desired grades on most occasions. This grey area always makes one spend sleepless nights. This limitation of the Viva Voce procedure has been finally overcome by bringing in the ‘Written Format’. It has the following advantages:

1. Converts present discriminatory Viva-Voce examination into an equal opportunity procedure for all the students in a class.
2. All the students of a class are asked to respond to exactly the same set of questions at the same time and duration. This offers exactly same opportunity to all the students.
3. The biggest advantage of engaging all the students simultaneously makes it possible to offer 50~100 True / False type statements in a written format. All that students have to do is to write True / False (T / F) in a box against every statement. 
4. The statements are designed to bring in brainstorming and to prevent any guess work.
5. Evaluation could be further based on ‘+1’ for every correct response and ‘-2’ for every wrong response.
6. No marks would be deducted for unattempted or skipped statements. Therefore students will ATTEMPT ONLY WHEN SURE. Please note, engineering education has no room for guessing.
7. The current discriminatory and monotonous faculty – students engagement will be a matter of past instead the whole procedure could be over may be in 30~ 45 minutes.
8. All the students are convinced of 100% transparency and zero nepotism / favouritism.
9. Response sheets are shown and discussed with the students for ensuring additional knowledge gain and confidence of the students. 
10. 50~100 True / False statements leave no room for casual attitude and instead motivate students continuously to learn.
11. This makes it possible for a teacher to do the relative grading seamlessly for all the students in a class in a transparent manner

All teachers and students must try this format right at the earliest opportunity. I am convinced that a very major irregularity has been addressed effectively. I am following it for over twenty years.

I have provided SAMPLE RESPONSE sheet for reference. Actual statements and responses will however differ from teacher to teacher. The common practice of asking the students to write the answers has been done away with. Instead students are asked to comment whether what we have written is ‘True’ or ‘False’. This brings end to all possible complaints or grievances.

SAMPLE PAPER FOR BLOG ON viva-written-format-equal-opportunity

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SHORT LISTING CRITERIA, A CRIMINAL ACT

SHORT LISTING CRITERIA, A CRIMINAL ACT

Considering number of PhD theses completed, number of publications in SCI / Scopus journals (International or National) and number of Sponsored Research projects completed for selecting a Head of the Institution / Faculty is criminal. It only proves the fact that Selection Committee doesn't have the WISDOM needed for making a required selection. This is one of the main reasons for mad rush for adding these numbers to the individual CV. Most are compelled to adopt ‘beg borrow or steal’ or ‘by hook or by crook’ philosophy for making their CVs sellable. Selections made on the basis of such unrealistic criteria have failed both education and research. Most faculty members force their research scholars to write at least two papers otherwise they won't be allowed to submit the thesis. Some universities / Institutes have gone to the extent of making it a rule with the blessings of the Senate. Only TRUE, HONEST, ORIGINAL and INNOVATIVE researchers can understand that no research worth a name can be carried out under pressure or by wielding a DANDA. Therefore all those faculty members who apply these pressures don't qualify to be Supervisors / Research Guides in the first instance. However some IITs have gone step further by fixing a target of churning out minimum 1000 PhD theses per year. Research except some exceptions is already dead in most Institutes / Universities with the blessings of the Heads of the institutions selected by the so called brilliant Selection Committees. May God save the Nation? No appeal is made for obvious reasons.

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