PUNJAB

NATIONAL BANK
Recruitment of management
trainee , specialist officers and
clerks by the Punjab National
Bank, Head Office, HRD Divisi-
ion, 7 Bhikaji Cama Place, New
Dekhi-110066, www.pnbindia.com
You need: To be an Indian citizen;
graduate in any discipline with 60%
marks/equivalent (55% marks or
equivalent for SC/ST/ PC) and
working knowledge of MS Officer
for management trainee. Prelimi-
nary examination (qualifying only)
on August 30, 2009.
Graduate with 50% marks (gradu-
ate only for SC/ST ExSM/PC) in any
discipline and working knowledge of
MS Office for clerk; written test on
September 20, 2009. Selection of Dy
manager law would be through in-
terview.
Written test and interview on Au-
gust 16, 2009 for security officer, Dy
manager financial analyst, and Dy
manager economics.
Form: Log on to www.pnbindia.com
except for Dy manager law.
Deadline: June 30, 2009 for submis-
sion.
Notified: Employment News, June
6, 2009.
ARTIFICER
APPRENTICE
Enrolment as sailors for Artificer
Apprentice (AA) -127 Batch in the
Indian Navy, www.nausena-
bharti.nic.in
You need: To be an umarried male
Indian citizens with 55% or more
marks in aggregate in 10+2 /equiva-
lent examination with compulsory
subjects physics and maths; optional
subjects chemistry/biology/comput-
er; born between February 1, 1990
and January 31, 1993 (both dates in-
clusive).
Form: Refer format in Employment
News June 6-12, 2009.
Deadline: July 6, 2009 for submis-
sion to Post Box No 476, Gol Dak
Khana, GPO, New Delhi-110001.
T
he most common notion about
teaching is that it is an
inherently simple job with
few challenges. This perception is
even more incredulous as it is often
held by educated individuals. In
fact, a lot of people end up joining
this profession as a result of this
very notion rather than a driving
passion to teach or for the sheer
love of the subject. Little do they
know that the job of a teacher is
fraught with challenges.
LOW SALARIES
While it is true that the amount of
time spent by a teacher in the work
place (read school/ college) is
relatively less than that spent by
most other professionals, the
amount of work a teacher takes
home is substantially more. There
are lesson plans to draw up,
worksheets to prepare,
presentations to make, homework
to assess, assignments to grade,
question papers to set and answer
papers to correct. Further, the
remuneration too is not high
enough to attract talented
individuals who are fit for the
profession. Starting salaries tend
to be amounts that pale in
comparison with that of other
professionals. Salary increments in
relation to experience are indeed
very low. Several educational
institutes do not consider the
experience and qualifications of an
individual while deciding on their
salaries. Very few teachers are
able to earn as much as other
skilled professionals with
comparable experience.
Additionally, the scope for growth
in educational institutes is rather
less when compared to that in the
corporate world.
JUGGLING
MULTIPLE TASKS
As ones teaching career
progresses, logistical
administrative tasks
too become more
prominent.
Organising tests and
assessing them
uniformly while
making room for a
childs creativity and
expression are also
major administrative
challenges.
Skillfully tackling
the abysmally low
attention spans yet
exceptionally strong
perceptive skills of
students too is a
difficult job. One has
to maintain ones
temper and
sensibilities while
handling the
behaviours, attitude and discipline
of a varied number of students that
come from diverse backgrounds.
Each student needs to be dealt with
in a unique manner and his/ her
corresponding disparate
shortcomings must be overcome in
a unique way. Health and
behavioural problems in children
too need to be adequately handled
to maintain a safe and nurturing
environment.
Inculcating a sense of curiosity
and analytical thinking in children
is no small feat; it requires a
creative yet painstaking approach
to the process of teaching. In many
cases, a lack of basic facilities is a
severe shortcoming as well. Often,
a teachers plan to teach lessons in
an elaborative and innovative
manner fails due to the lack of
infrastructure.
THE COACHING CLASS
MENACE
The near religious way in which
children are herded to coaching
classes and tuitions has resulted in
students being in a discordant state
of mind at school. Instead of
supplementing school lessons or
serving as a remedial measure in
case of the lack of adequate
instructions at school, these
classes often serve to pre-
empt the natural flow of
studies. The popularity of
coaching classes also brings
into focus the need for
teachers to continuously
reinvent themselves and
bring about novel ways of
teaching.
Lastly, the aversion to
change such as
encouraging the use of
internet severely damps
the ability to explore
exciting new possibilities.
This shortcoming also
limits the abilities of
teachers to progress and
innovate as does the
unwavering focus on rote learning
that is the biggest casualty of the
prevalent assessment system.
(The writer is a teacher with 20
years of experience)
R
ight from bureaucratic corridors to
private colleges, education is a
much discussed topic. However, in
spite of such discussions and even the
suggestions of various committees like
the Kothari Commission and the
Knowledge Commission, little seems to
have changed. Add to it the disparity in
the quality of education imparted by
institutes across the country. Private and
public, state and central, Indian and
international, missionary and non-
missionary, minority and majority,
English and vernacular medium, and
SSC, ICSE, CBSE, NCERT, IGCSE, and IB
are just some of the differences that
require corrective measures.
This is not to say that positive changes
have not taken place. Unemployed,
educated youth has given birth to the
introduction of professional courses such
as BMM and BMS which have become
hugely popular among students. Add-on
programmes, honours degrees, and the
choice of vocational subjects and
languages, are some of the recent
developments that have changed the face
of education. Additionally, the semester
system and continuous assessments have
taken away the pressure of final
examination to some extent. Assessment
on the basis of project work and viva-
voce too is a positive step towards aiding
the development of students. The more
recent introduction of online admissions
too is doubtlessly a parent and student-
friendly step. However, in spite of these
changes, there are some principal areas
that we need to focus on.
The English poet, T S Eliot once
questioned, Where is the knowledge we
have lost in information? Where is the
wisdom we have lost in knowledge? It is
perhaps time we seek answers to these
omnipresent questions.
Donning an optimistic outlook, lets
rejoice the fact that our children have
instant access to abundant information
thanks to the internet, encyclopedias and
the different school boards that are
fiercely competing with each other to
bombard them with maximum
information.
EDUCATION TIMES
PRESENTS A FREE
CAT WORKSHOP
by Serial CAT topper Byju
BASED on the overwhelm-
ing success of the previous
CAT workshop, Education
Times presents a co-brand-
ed free CAT workshop in as-
sociation with Byju Raveen-
dran on his unique methods
in Math and Data Interpreta-
tion in which 50 CAT-level
questions will be discussed.
Byju Raveendran is one of
Indias leading CAT trainers
who has sent more than 400
students to the IIMs in the
past two years.
The workshop will discuss
many short cut techniques
and innovative strategies in-
cluding his copyrighted URL
approach which will help a
CAT taker solve questions at
any level, all by using only a
common-sense approach.
Do not miss the opportunity.
Venue : Jyoti Nivas College
Auditorium, 5th block, Kora-
mangala on Sunday, July
5th at 10 am.
For free registration and
details: CALL or SMS
<YOUR NAME> to
9880031619.
P
IC
:
B
A
L
A
R
IN
G
E
G
R
A
P
H
IC
:
M
A
N
IS
H
B
H
A
T
IA
TOWARDS A BRIGHTER
TOMORROW
TOWARDS A BRIGHTER
TOMORROW
THOUGH THE INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM IS FAR FROM PERFECT, ONE CANNOT DENY THAT POSITIVE
CHANGES ARE TAKING PLACE WITHIN THIS STRUCTURE ALBEIT AT A SLOW PACE. DR SNEHALATA DESHMUKH
PRESENTS AN EXPERT VIEW ON THE CHALLENGES THAT LIE AHEAD OF OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM WHILE
PROVIDING SOME SOLUTIONS
Further the
cause of
research
Give the
GenNext a
value structure
Provide
children the
time to
decipher
information
Provide
children the
time to
decipher
information
Further the
cause of
research
Give the
GenNext a
value structure
THE TIMES OF INDIA
MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2009
T H E F U T U R E , N O W
www.educationtimes.com
BANGALORE EDITION
Log on to read the top 5 articles: [1] GD/ PI-
Current issue topic in a GD [2] cAreerZ - Commerce -
Careers in Commerce [3] College Life- Colleges in Mumbai [4] GD/ PI - What happens in a PI
[5] GD/ PI - Handling a GD when you dont understand the topic
Also check out the top 5 sections of the week...
>>
SECTION 1
Counsellor
Forum
>>
SECTION 2
cAreerZ
>>
SECTION 3
GD/PI
>>
SECTION 4
Distance
Learning
>>
SECTION 5
Walk a job
GATEWAY TO SUCCESS
ALT TABBING, DEALING WITH THE MENACE OF COACHING CLASSES AND MANAGING A RIGID
SYSTEM ARE JUST SOME OF THE HURDLES THAT TEACHERS CROSS EVERYDAY. SUJATA SENGUPTA
PROVIDES INSIGHTS INTO THE VARIOUS ISSUES THAT CONFRONT TEACHERS
>>
Career in Public Relations
If you are a people person with patience and
strong enterprising and communication
skills, then a career in public relations can
take you a long way. For more details, visit
http://www.educationtimes.com/careerz
>>
Be honest at work
A small lie can actually make or break your
career. To read more, visit
http://www.educationtimes.com/walkajob
VISIT
TO READ THESE AND MORE...
contd on page 6
Teacher troubles
NOTICE BOARD
One has to
maintain ones
temper and
sensibilities
while handling
the behaviours,
attitude and
discipline of a
varied number
of students that
come from
diverse
backgrounds