B-Log

New Format for NET Exam: Some Objective Thoughts A curious move made by the University Grants Commission recently is the decision to change the format of the UGC / CSIR-NET to a completely objective/  Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format. Till now, the test followed a format in which both Multiple Choice questions and descriptive ones were used, with wise emphasis on descriptive questions. From this June 2012 onwards, there will be no more descriptive type questions in the new format NET exam and the overall marking will be based purely on the objective / multiple choice kinds of questions. The move has raised many an eye brow and it is not only the language and literature departments which are keen to know the rationale for this kind of a change. The CSIR / NET examinations are held twice a year to certify postgraduates who can move to teaching / research. The National Educational Testing Bureau of University Grants Commission (UGC) conducts National Eligibility Test (NE

Duty Bound! Election Duty spells alarm for many an employee, of schools and colleges, like me. The Pre-election lethargy grips long before the Election Commission order arrives. The casual meetings begin to echo the ‘you-remember- how-it-was-last-time’ and ‘why-should-there-be-elections-I-wonder’ musings. The small talks reflect worry and apprehensions mount. Many quietly knock the back door to evade the Duty via new-found difficulties! Once a professor sought exemption stating his strong political affiliation made political impartiality impossible, leave alone those who file nomination papers! But I have started realising that the two-day Election Duty offers many positives to be taken home. The first thing it does is to bundle a different bunch of people from various fields together. Hence, as Election Commission’s Officer’s Handbook states, team work is on top of the agenda. The presiding officer, polling officers and the assistants work with shared responsibilities, in

E xemption from NET for Computer Science postgrads The computer science postgraduates have been exempted by the University of Calicut from clearing the National Eligibility Test (NET) the criterion fixed as mandatory by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to be selected for appointed as associate professors in Colleges/ universities in India. The news could be heartening to many Computer Science graduates who have not cleared the NET in the subject as it gives them an opportunity to bypass the norm legally. It would be accepted by all parties who have an interest in the field of higher education that the introduction of a screening test by UGC in  1989  to determine the eligibility of lecturers has lent a great amount of credibility to the college  /  university education and has ensured that a certain degree of quality is guaranteed among those who take up the vocation. Ever since the said norm came to practice, the old scenario of anyone with a second class Masters degree r