Down the memory
lane, I recall one of the interviews I attended for the post of a Lecturer in
Chemistry in a leading college in the southern part of Tamilnadu sometime
around 1970. The college was owned and administered by a leading businessman
who owned some match and cracker factories. He was not an educator by himself,
but the position did offer him the authority to interview the candidates as a
single member of the Interview panel.
As I entered the room where I was
invited, I was shocked to note that there was not a single chair for the
candidates and I was looking for one. As he started questioning I politely
indicated the absence of a seating arrangement for the candidates. He shot
back saying “You seem to be arrogant. Why not answer standing for sometime?” I
didn’t offer any answer but walked out. Such incidents are not far and few and
are proof enough to the poor understanding and display of HR practices. Even
some leading colleges and schools are no exception.
Two years back,
when I had the occasion to visit an Engineering College to conduct a training
program on soft skills, I found the Administrator of the college (who appeared more
a boxer!) shouting at the Head of the Department of the college in the presence
of the students in a foul language. I felt the concerned person should have
simply walked out as a protest, but one doesn’t know what his compulsions were.
I remember an incident when a member of the panel in an interview representing the management and was an MBA and in the business of stock-market, started asking questions to post graduates in Biology and Biotechnology just by referring to the google sites in his smartphone. He possibly didn't understand and acknowledge his limitations.
Educational administration
is entirely a different ball game, and many of the strategies adopted in HR
practices and industries do not necessarily fit in into this system. The school
managers with competencies of different types sometimes suffer from the absence
of deep understanding needed to handle the psyche of the persons in educational
platforms. Possibly all the skills they have are very useful, but need to be
re-positioned to the ecosystems of educational institutions. Very often trust
deficit and the confidence that anyone can guide a teacher, who has some
professional skills acts as a roadblock to healthy interpersonal relations in
educational management.
It is important to
understand, the authority, in whatever level and form exists, does not bestow
high handed treatments of the members of the team. Successful organizations
have always had not only a well-coordinated team, but one where mutual trust
and respect exists. As such educational organization should be bacon lights for
excellent HR practices which would be a direct experiential learning for their
stakeholders.
In an entirely
changed scenario where every employee needs a personal touch, understanding,
empathy, motivation and consideration, it is important that a strong HR team
should be positioned to deal with all relevant issues. Further, Absence of
professional approaches in administration slowly, but surely, would reflect the
declining health of an organization.
Some of the issues which seem to be haunting the educational organizations both at the school
level and higher educational level are:
a. Recruitment
planning and induction
b. inter-personal
relationships
c. Professional
Ethics – mentoring and monitoring
d. Continuous
professional development
e. Feedback
mechanisms and re-engineering HR practices
f. Growth profile
mentoring and facilitating
g. Building the climate of a Learning organization
h. HR documentation and legal issues
There could be several other issues which could be
unique to individual organizations.
While many institutions have good administrative set ups
to look after some of these issues, most of them do not have a comprehensive HR
department to engage in the above activities with the attention they
deserve.
Institutions with a futuristic outlook need to apply
their mind on this issue.
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