I walk into the examination hall and the students pay no attention. They keep on shouting at the top of their voices. I somehow manage to get heard, and ask for order. They reluctantly lower their voices. I ask them to remove all the reading materials so that I can give them the question and answer sheets. This is a closed book mid semester exam. They remove a few things. Whatever they do not, I throw it in a heap. Five minutes into the exam, I find book pages and other notes with a student and I have to almost physically fight to take it away. The student taunts “Ma’am you know nothing is going to happen to us. What is the point?” Inwardly, I wonder, what the point is but with a brave face I tell him (or on many other occasions it was her) “You cannot do it if I am standing in the class. It does not matter to me, whatever is going to happen later.”
Sounds like a scene from a bad Bollywood movie? Well, this was my first job in a private management institute. No, it was not in a small city or in an obscure college. The place ranks at number 15 or thereafter in many so called reputed magazine surveys in India. It also claims (and so do many others) to be the top most business school established after 1990.
I was just out of my Ph.D. where I saw my instructors teaching for 6 to 8 hours a week and many had a passion for research that I also caught to some extent. Just before joining this job I had given an interview in a European university for postdoctoral fellow position. It did not work out for various reasons, but one main reason was that the country had absurd visa laws for the spouse and we had already spent almost two years apart during my Ph.D. We did not want to prolong this separation.
Hence, I joined the place that was/is ranked around 15th in the country. After a few days of joining the Program Director asked me to submit his check in the bank on campus! Two months down the line the HOD one day wanted some help with Microsoft word. She was facing a tight deadline and I offered to type it for her. From then on I became her typist. I wish they would have included these duties in my offer letter and job description!
The students used to pay a hefty fee, and were actively encouraged to misbehave. They could yell, kick on the doors if they were late and left out. Talking during the lectures was usual and least of the offenses. I still remember the days when I used to come back and sit on the floor (I love doing this) and stare at the walls. My husband would cook food for both of us (my nephews had not joined us then) almost everyday. In fact, I should say everyday.
The management had the philosophy that ‘the students pay the fees, we give the degree and teachers are decoration pieces.’ If anyone tried to raise the issues, he or she was made to feel incompetent and many heavy weights like Program Director, HOD, etc. would act as if it was that particular individual only who was facing problems. I lasted there one semester and then we moved to a neighboring town as my husband changed his job.
I took a transfer to another of their business schools in the new town. It was better than the first but here I was required to teach 4 different courses in a semester and a total of 16 hours a week. And for the same position my salary somehow got reduced by 4000 rupees and they forgot to mention this fact before I joined them. I lasted two months here. But my students were better than the previous institute here.
My second job was at an engineering college where I used to teach Economics and Management (compulsory papers in even and odd semesters). Most of the students here came through state level engineering exams and were serious about their studies. When I left, they gave me a coffee mug that says ‘world’s greatest teacher.’ I enjoyed teaching them a lot. But I was forced to leave it after a year and a half. Why?
I used to teach 20 hours a week at this place in a five day week. We had staff room style sitting arrangement with no PC. I asked the management again and again that they hired me after looking at my CV and I have a few publications to my credit. How do they expect me to continue my research work?
They once held a meeting of the so called research committee, where the director (retired IIT Delhi faculty) asked us to do research. I asked them if they are willing to provide me a PC, as after teaching 20 classes a week, I need a PC on my desk rather than running to the common lab where the computers take 20 minutes to boot. They agreed in the meeting probably to save face. But later the so called dean (retired IIT KGP faculty) called me to his office, and told me that a computer costs 40,000 rupees and do I even knew to open and close a computer and asked me to demonstrate ‘how to close a window’ on his 1988 model laptop!
I was so taken aback that I could not even shout at him. After coming out, I locked myself and cried in the washroom and later raised a stink. I shouted at the management and told them I would never ever use a computer given by them. That is how I bought my laptop. But still I had good students here.
Push came to a shove on a particularly tiring day. I must have taken four classes that day and I was supposed to substitute someone at a short notice. I do not know why, maybe because the teacher gave the students a lot of rope, the students gave me hell.The substitution system was so weird that I had gone to Physics and Chemistry classes too, and basically let students do whatever they wanted (the management understood the problem but still wanted to play this sham), as I do not know any Physics or Chemistry. I again shouted at the management and told them what I thought of taking Physics substitution classes. Things got heated and I threatened to leave. I meant it.
The management fellow also got heated and said maybe I should. It was the last day of the month and I told him he could keep my salary in lieu of one month notice and I would not come from tomorrow. When he saw that I was serious he backed out and I stayed that day. But my search for a new job had begun.
What I wrote above are just a few samples. There were so many incidents, apart from what I wrote here. I can now understand why some books talk about toxic organizational environments. I have lived in them!
Thankfully, though I still teach in a private institute, I teach only 6 hours a week and at this place research is appreciated and there is an atmosphere of academics. How I got this job? That is a story for another day.
PS. In May 2015 I quit academia, for good or not, I don’t know.
PPS. In 2020 I went back to teaching part time but totally online due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. I now only work with people I trust.
i never realised that the teachers had such difficult times. point noted…btw bureaucracy and dinosaurs like the “so called dean” suck.
u have done the right things mridula!!!! i hate being patient with such idiots(>_<)now ur teaching only 6 hrs a week?? wow…cant wait for another story! take care~
I must admit that reading this post was a bit of a cultural shock for me; American public colleges are run quite differently and students who are caght cheating or not attending class are failed and/or dropped from the course. If the bad behavior continues then they are expelled.Your experiences are absolutely startling—I can’t believe you were asked to teach classes about which you knew virtually nothing. And being asked to type someone’s paper? That’s just plain demeaning! But I have to say that I’m no stranger to unfair treatment. First of all, at my college I am what they call “adjunct faculty,” which means I am paid a mere pittance for virtually the same amount of work as full-time faculty. I teach part-time at two colleges, which equals 16 hours / week. Really, it is downright shameful, as many full-timers instructors and administrators willingly admit, that American colleges rely on so many part-time professors to teach the general requirements and shoulder the cost of keeping an institution going. Yes, they call it “Paying your dues,” but it’s really a euphemism for “exploitation.” After working part-time for a few years, they claim that you will be competitive for full-time positions, but this isn’t always the case. Here’s the thing: I love my job as a college instructor. I am good at it. Teaching comes naturally to me and I work 50-60 hours per week grading papers and creating lessons plans and making sure I give 110% in the classroom every single day. I am up to date with the latest pedagogy and I put enormous time and effort into designing and sequencing my assignments, as well as carefully commenting on my students’ drafts.But I must admit that I resent that, without my husband’s income, I would surely be hungry and homeless. And I resent that so few opportunities for full-time work actually come up, that I can do everything right, get excellent colleague and student evaluations, and that there is still no guarantee I will get a full-time position. So I do understand what it’s like to be under appreciated, at least by the administrationThanks for sharing your experiences with teaching! I really enjoyed hearing about what you do and I hope you don’t mind that my response is almost as long as your post.
I have to second JB. American universities are very different, at least from a student standpoint. I can’t imagine any instructor having to tolerate that kind of behavior from the students.I’m so glad you found a good job before you decided to give up. Are you still considering doing any exchange teaching? I know my university often had instructors from other colleges.
How frustrating for you! There are quite a few professors in my family, and they all have stories about students who feel that just because they’ve paid their tuition the classes should just be handed to them and they shouldn’t have to do any work…it happens everywhere.
Wow, very insightful post, and JB also added a lot to the topic! It seems that no matter what industry you’re in, Academia or Corporate America, there will be always be pitfalls. I’ve been in my share of toxic organizations and know it’s not fun, and I can’t imagine having to teach a course in a subject that I know nothing about, but I’m happy that you’re in a better place now. As far as the postdoctoral fellow position, my husband is going through all that right now. He’s a Physics Ph.D. candidate set to commence in December, and right now we don’t know what the future holds. I don’t want to move again but most likely he will need to search for positions nationally, so the future remains uncertain. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
Mridula, I was quite startled to read this – I remember you had left a comment on one of my posts long ago on MBA rankings (or some such thing to do with MBA schools) – but I had no idea things were so bad…my first thought when I came across this link on desipundit was that this must have been some private enginnering college where just about any kid with money can get in – and get out after four years with a degree in engineering and – sometimes also a visa to the US… but a ranked mba institute?! in fact, your experience at the second place – the engg colege says that the problem was with the faculty/mgt rather than the students…
Poison, if the students are rowdy and management of the institute idiots, interested only in making money, teachers are bound to have a bad time if they are serious about their jobs! I agree with you that the bureaucracy sucks. But the private sector is supposed to cut the bureaucracy.Niki, I am a quite person till provoked but if and when I am provoked, I can give a piece of my mind to anyone. Apart from that, my husband earns a lot, so I never have the pressure (till date) to hold a job. Many a times I saw that the faculty members who were the sole bread winners could not do so. I am lucky I have this advantage.
JB, I loved your response and the longer the better :)Not all academic institutions in India are that bad. But the privatization thing being recent, many places are shops, run by businessmen interested only in making money and nothing else. I had the misfortune to teach at two such places. And the experience has been devastating. However, at many places (the present one, where I teach and also where I did my Ph.D) indiscipline is not tolerated.I knew there was a tenure track and a less secure one in the US but not in so much detail as you said. 16 hours a week is a heavy load and not being paid for it properly would surely hurt.We are in the same boat as far as the income of husbands go! My income can buy the bread but butter and chocolates are courtesy my husband’s income! Thanks for your insightful comment.Lily, I am so happy to know that in the US students are not like this. About exchange teaching, my family committments have increased, as my young nephews stay with us. Sometime, surely but not sure when.
I have to break my responses otherwise they will become longer than the post!Teri, a friend left his Assistant Professor position at University of Michigan, because he said he could not teach 18 year olds! So I guess to some extent it has to be true. But in India at some places the atmosphere is outright shabby and dishonest.Crystal, all my best wishes to your husband and you for finding a super postdoc position.Charu, I remember attending a conference where one delegate told a member of the media that when it comes to college ranking, they do it by the suitcase, after a point. The member of the media had nothing to say in his defense. I have no faith in India Today and Outlook surveys, after the first few ranks. After all, at some point Outlook gave IIPM a high rank. How did that happen? When I joined the place I am talking about, it was ranked 15, it still hangs somewhere there, though AICTE derecongized some of their programs recently and this may reflect in the magazine rankings.My fellow faculty members (barring people like director and dean) and students at the engineering college were excellent. It was the management that was a bunch of idiots. Every year they would change the model of their cars, Skoda to Optra to Innova but the college had no money to buy new books for the library.
Hi, I came here through a link at DesiPundit. Thanks for sharing your experience. I knew working in private colleges was quite horrible, but I didn’t imagine that it would be this bad.
Abi, thanks for taking time at my corner. I saw that you teach at IISC! I guess having post grads only must be a blessing. Many of the private colleges in India are bad. I am sure many government ones will also be bad but I have no personal experience of them.
Are you still at IIPM? Delhi/mumbai?Your posts do make interesting reads… reminds me of the time we gave the Profs a hard time.. and also the fact that the class used to be overfull for some of the lady profs thnx to the students from the other sections !those were fun days ….
Thoughts, I was never with IIPM.
Mridula,Strange that I got to read this post today and only yesterday an interesting thing happened. I am visiting my husband presently who is doing his MBA studies. He got a call from one of his classmates who wanted him to give him the solution set to one of the take home assignments. My husband had to wiggle out of this one by politely saying “no”. This was one of his newly found friends at college who was panicing right before the deadline for the assignment and I am sure my husband would have liked to help. The whole situation was very awkward for him and he pretty much spent the rest of the night wondering whether he should have helped or not or how he could have handled the situation better.Infact, coming to the US and getting to experience first hand the educational environment here was a big eye opener for me and my husband. Its very different from what I had experienced in India with a lot of stress on academic integrity. I remember as a teaching assistant in Buffalo, I had discovered a student cheating on an assignment and she was immediately taken to task.
mridula ~ Wow! What a fascinating job history. I see that these workplace difficulties are really everywhere across the globe. One thing I was wondering as I read this story (particularly at the part where the man questioned your ability to even close a window on a pc!) was how women are treated versus men in your particular job. As I read, I felt very angry for you because of how the management behaved. Were they equally rude/mean to the male faculty? Just wondering your opinion on this. Also, it’s great to see that picture of the mug. I remember you mentioned it on a comment on my blog sometime in the past. What a treasure to have it! 🙂
Thoughts attitude like this, that everything boils down to “fun” makes eventually serious teachers to treat students like “fun” and ultimately teaching jobs as “fun” too. So in the end, its amply clear that who are having real “fun” and getting paid for it too. One of my teachers used to say “Chaku chahe Kharbooje pe gire, ya Kharbooja, Chakoo pe, katega Kharbooja hi!” I’m glad that we have the sense not to treat his lectures as “fun” time, today we know more about that subject than written in textbook. In fact he used to teach so nicely, that students from other streams used to come to listen to him, his everyday lectures. Sometimes no seats were vacunt and students used to stand through entire lecture! I too had fun with Profs but only with those, who “deserved” this and were poorely informed at their subjects. But they too made sure that in the end we gained something and not came out as zombies in front of this world. As far as I know Mridula puts her heart and soul in preparing every lecture and used to make it as near to international standard as possible reading latest happenings in that subject. No one can get her notes in 2-3 books put together. But still, if it is “fun” time for students, I think she too should concentrate on her research, rather than wasting her time with non serious persons like these who are only interested in having “fun” indiscrimately.
Pooja, thanks for taking time and sharing your experiences with us. I guess, the lax attitude toward education at this scale is somewhat recent in India, and came with privatization. Alka, I can see that reply by Thoughts got to you. I have to admit I too was taken aback, because it was so much against the spirit of whatever I had written, but let it be. Jaane bhi do.Momo, I do not think that the institute used to give men any better time than women. In addition, many male faculty members were sole earning members of their household, so they had to take all the BS without retaliating. I always had the option of giving people a piece of my mind, because even if I left my job suddenly, it would not hurt our finances seriously. I do cherish that mug, and the fact that a few of my students still call me or write to me.
I must agree – In the end, it’s the relationships with students that are the biggest reward.
I simply love your blog especially the travel tales. I have been reading them and it has inspired me to start blogging (posted just one). Coming from India, I totally understand your experience in private institutions. At the same time, coming from one of the IITs I can tell you that we had to slog a lot on our own and there was no wish for cheating in exams. You have made this difference clear between the bad apples and others in the ensuing comments , but I would be grateful if you can make it clear in your blogs, so that students striving for higher studies abroad with all their integrity and hard work are not judged incorrectly. Please make it clear that this is not the case for all institutions in your blog.
Hey not fair I want to hear the good part and how you got to where are today. I am glad to hear you are somewhere better : )
Momo, I do agree with you.Suzunita, IIT is not a private institute. People know about it, so much so that Dilbert comic strips now have a character named Asok, who graduated from IIT! I read your poem and enjoyed it a lot.Pecos blue, someday, I will write about it. I feel so much more sane at my present work place. Thanks a lot for your comment.
those horror stories..what can one say ? it’s good that you’ve recovered enough to look back and tell them.. i stopped looking at rankings after the first two years because i personally know a few people who run private educational institutions – they don’t seem to think that good teachers, to put it in their own language, are a good investment.. they’re just sundry expenses that’ve to be incurred in the course of running an institute. i’d long suspected that they consider the buildings and other ‘infrastructure’ that they invest in, mostly to wrangle the aicte approval, as the only things that are the essential elements of a college.. is it any surprise that they view pcs as more valuable than teachers..?those of who were brought up on the old-fasioned notion that an educational institution is teachers and students need to rework on that idea..it is now smart management-venal regulatory agencies-degree buying students..the teachers are incidental elements in this new picture.one of your best posts, mridula.
Mridula,This was very evocative and I can imagine what it must have taken to put it down here. Thanks a lot for sharing. Now I understand better your suggestions about job-changing etc. I am glad you are where you are today, and thouroughly enjoying what you do. For all the struggles one goes through, this must be such a compensation. I would love to know more about how you got here.
Kuffir, thanks a lot for sharing your insight here. I agree with you, teachers are not a priority at such places and AICTE approval can come by hook or crook. Emma, thanks a lot for your comment. I am so glad that you can understand better the comment I left at your blog. I will surely return to the post about my current job sometime soon.
Hi Mridula: Thanks for reading my silly poem and leaving a comment. I am just starting you know and its you who really inspired me to blog:). You write superbly, and from this post I can say you are a superb person too. Kudos to you for standing up for what you believe and not wielding down to pressure or get institutionalized. Wishing you all the best in life.
Well written.. Its rare to see professors writing blogs and having the courage to point out the sundry wrongs in our system.
Suzunita, keep blogging. I have seen a few other people starting with a few hestitant posts but developing into steady and wonderful bloggers.Sumit, thank you. I know there are things that do not work even in the best of the systems 🙂 and I used to cribb a lot as a student. But what I saw in these private institutes is in an entirely different league!
hey mridula,nice post there. however some of the persons you mentioned in the engg college that u teached in does ring a bell. without taking names, however, i just wanted to confirm. maybe you can tell me if the name of the management course was actually “Principles & Practices of Management” ? (taught to II year students of 5 branches in that college ??)if yes, then i would like to add that i was one of your students there. i graduated last yr.regardsanon
Yes, looks like we are talking about the same place anon. My email is on my profile page. If ou wish, you can write to me.RegardsMridula
Mridula, Nice to read about your experiances. i feel the situation is same everywhere (private schools or collages). in most of cases management is bunch of idiots interested in making only money. for teachers, we have very few good ones like you and most of others again are timepass teachers.i had graduated from a very good engineering institute (good in the sense of quality of students it used to get, toppers from state level eng entrance). teachers were mix of brilliant/timepass. good thing is that they used to get deserved treatment as well.cheersNilesh
hey mridula..u take the cake again..was an amzing post and just opens ur eyes to the real world..i know ppl thnk such instances happened ages ago..but the rot still exists and is there to be handled..Lord alone knows when we will wake up to this fact..but hey i cant even wait till your next post on how u got to…where u are right now..!!!Cheers..Para
Hi Mridula,I found your blog to be quite interesting. Usually I don’t comment on blogs but I decided to do so after reading your blog on your experiences of teaching in a higher education institute in India (the other being your trip to Groningen). I had been thinking of coming back to India (have a few offers) and take up an academic assignment, but I guess I have to rethink now and maybe i should not rush in too soon. I don’t thing one can find the independence available in the West in India.
Nilesh, I will have to agree that there are timepass teachers too. No doubt about that.Para, someday I will post about my present job. Right now too much is happening at once.Rajeev, it depends that the offers you have are from which place? It would be a good idea to not to rush into things but if it is from a established place then you will not find such issues there. Thanks for taking time to leave your comment. Much appriciated.
Hey Mridula, Pretty illuminating post!! I came to this post when I was 'googl'ing for teaching opportunities in india as I am thinking of giving up the lucrative but insanely high pressure job of software debugging and teaching some tricks of the trade that I have picked up during the past 15 years on the job. Apparently, the grass is greener on the other side always…. But still, somehow, I feel that I would still give teaching a go and see where it takes me. Glad that I read your post. Forewarned is fore armed. Right??B.t.w, love your writing style … good luck… and do keep posting !!
Ramprakash many of the institutions do not function well, however that just means that one has to try and find a good one where one can be happy.