Abstract
In the land of the guru, the teacher (acharya) was once upon a time venerated as a demigod (deva). From the village schoolmaster to the university don, in India teachers have traditionally been accorded the highest esteem, even if it was not matched by commensurate economic rewards. However, over the past few decades all this has changed: The academic profession has experienced a precipitous decline, and the once-revered guru has fallen. As if a reflection of this, the eulogistic description of teaching as a “noble profession” has become conspicuous by its absence in the current discourse on the subject.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Agrawala, S. K. (1992). Courts and accountability of universities: Some recent developments. University News, 30, 19–24.
—. (1994). Code of professional ethics: Accountability of teachers. In M. V. Mathur, Ramesh K. Arora, and Meena Sogani (Eds.), Indian universitysystem: Revitalization and reform (pp. 214–227). New Delhi: Wiley Eastern.
All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). (1994). Report of the high power committee for mobilization of additional resources for technical education. New Delhi: AICTE.
Bali, A. P. (1986). College teachers: Challenges and responses. New Delhi: Northern Book Centre.
Béteille, André. (2000). Chronicles of our time. New Delhi: Penguin Books India.
Bhoite, U. B. (1987). Sociology of Indian intellectuals. Jaipur: Rawat.
Chalam, K. S. (1994). Performance of academic staff colleges in India. Visakhapamam, India: Andhra University Press and Publications.
Chanana, Karuna. (2000). Treading the hallowed halls: Women in higher education in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 35, 1012–1022.
Chitnis, Suma, and Altbach, Philip G. (Eds.). (1979). The Indian academic profession: Crisis and change in the teaching community. New Delhi: Macmillan.
Government of India (GOI). (1985). Challenge of education: A policy perspective. New Delhi: Ministry of Education.
—. (1986). Program of action: National policy on education. New Delhi: Ministry of Human Resource Development.
—. (1999). India 1999: A reference annual. New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Indiresan, Jayalakshmi. (1993). Quest for quality: Interventions versus impact. In Suma Chitnis and Philip G. Altbach (Eds.), Higher education reform in India: Experience and perspectives (pp. 309–333). New Delhi: Sage.
Jayaram, N. (1992). India. In Bruce S. Cooper (Ed.), Labor relations in education: An international perspective (pp. 157–169). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
—. (1997). India. In G. A. Postiglione and G. C. L. Mak (Eds.), Asian higher education: An international handbook and reference guide (pp. 75–91). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Kaul, Rekha. (1993). Caste, class and education: Politics of the capitation fee phenomenon in Karnataka. New Delhi: Sage.
Krishnakumar, G. (2000). Case for national eligibility test for teachers. Economic and Political Weekly, 35, 2369.
Kumar, T. Ravi, and Raina, Badri. (1997). Rastogi committee pay structure: Disincentives reinforced. Economic and Political Weekly, 32, 1985–1990.
Morkhandikar, R. S. (2000). Politics of education in Maharashtra. Economic and Political Weekly, 35, 1991–1993.
National Commission on Teachers (NCT). (1985). Report of the national commission on teachers, II, 1983–85. New Delhi: Controller of Publications.
Seethi, K. M. (2000). UGC’s disincentives for Ph.D. Economic and Political Weekly, 35, 1895–1896.
Shariff, Abusaleh, and P. K. Ghosh. (2000). Indian education scene and the public gap. Economic and Political Weekly, 35, 1396–1406.
Singh, Amrik. (1991). Ramamurti report on education in retrospect. Economic and Political Weekly, 26, 1605–1613.
Tilak, Jandhyala B. G. (1996). Higher education under structural adjustment. Journal of Indian school of Political Economy, 8, 266–293.
—. (1999). Emerging trends in evolving public policies in India. In Philip G. Altbach (Ed.), Private Prometheus: Private higher education and development in the 21st century (pp. 127–153). Chestnut Hill, MA: Center for International Higher Education, Boston College.
University Grants Commission (UGC). (1986). Report of the committee on revision of pay scales of teachers in universities and colleges. New Delhi: UGC.
—. (1989). Report of the task force on code of professional ethics for university and college teachers. New Delhi: UGC.
—. (1998). UGC notification on revision of pay scales, minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers in universities and colleges, and other measures for the maintenance of standards. New Delhi: UGC.
Varghese, N. V. (2000). Reforming education financing. Seminar, 494, 20–25.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2003 Philip G. Altbach
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jayaram, N. (2003). The Fall of the Guru: The Decline of the Academic Profession in India. In: Altbach, P.G. (eds) The Decline of the Guru. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403982568_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403982568_8
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-4039-6054-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4039-8256-8
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)