Dilemma of Tradition, Change Faces South Indian University

Annamalai University is situated in the rural heart of Madras State, or Tamil Nad, South India. On its eastern boundry, lush green rice paddies cover the six miles between the University and the shores of the Bay of Bengal. On the west, the campus blends almost unnoticeably into the town of Chidambaram, a religious, as well as commercial and government center. Chidambaram's two famous Hindu temples dominate the landscape for miles around, visible proof of the University's ties with traditional South India.

Founded in 1930 by the wealthy merchant and Tamil culturist, Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar, the University has 3500 students (including 350 girls), and is entirely supported by the all-India University Grants Commission and the Madras State Government. One of five or six "residential universities" in India, it is organized along American lines.

The academic year here begins in June and ends in April, and is divided into three terms of three months each. As a result, short vacation periods generally prevent Annamalai students from taking interim jobs, the few that are available, as their American counterparts do. Entering students are usually one year younger than the average Harvard freshman, having had only eleven years of precollege training.

But the path to the B.A. degree is not continuous throughout four years. Students first spend one year in a "pre-university course," and proceed to three year's study for the degree only after passing a public examination. B.A. candidates take a total of twelve such public examinations in four years. Because they are all-important and because they are rigidly administered by external committees, these exams are the bane of the Indian student's life.

The Annamalai student does not vary his curriculum as much as the Harvard man. He takes five subjects per year throughout the four years, always has five hours of class per day. He attends classes regularly because attendance is taken. In the pre-university course, English the language used in the university, and a second language (usually Indian) are required, as well as two courses in the student's field of concentration and one outside.

In four years, the prospective B.A. takes a total of one course completely outside his major and one in a related field to fulfill his minor requirement. Thus, if he is a physics major, he may take one course in history and one in zoology and the remainder will usually be devoted to physics. One reason for this concentrated program may be inadequate special training in the secendary schools.

The concept or practice of "general education" is obviously not deeply-rooted here. An understanding of the essential of different disciplines, or an interdisciplinary approach is not required. This may be traced in part to the British origins of modern Indian university education. Under British rule one of the primary functions of the university was to educate asmall number of Indians for civil service;' while little thought was given to "total education." The students themselves do not seem to be very concerned with knowledge outside their major fields. The examination system is largely for this, since responsible degrees depend primarily on exams in special fields.

Course instruction at Annamalai is also quite standardized. All courses on the B.A. level are conducted in lectures. Instruction similar to Harvard's sections, tutorials or independent study are not used, though seminars have been introduced on the graduate level. Lectures frequently dictate from standard prepared notes, occossionally read from the course textbook.

In line with the pattern of Indian society, students are characteristically more passive than agressive. They take notes verbatim or in outline form, then memorize them before the exam. Effective lecturing is made more difficult by some students' inability to understand spoken English, particularly a problem in the first year. This may also be a result of inadequacies in secondary education. In Madras State, for example, Tamilian regionalism complicates the problem, where Tamil replaces English as the medium of instruction in high schools.

The content and structure of all Annamalai courses are determined by departmental committees aided by outside specialists. The committees make their decisions in keeping with the expected public examination questions. Therefore, teachers do not usually expand or experiment with course material. If they do, students are likely to ignore the additional or novel material, since they are aware that they will not be tester in it. Except in the physical sciences, where 30% of the grade is determined by class work, the student's grade on the public exam in his grade for the course.

No Hourly, No Papers

The average Annamalai student seems to study less than his Harvard counterpart. Five courses throughout the year may require a total of 3000 pages or reading notes are not usually part of the study pattern; a student may appear to read a textbook on atomic physics as if it were a novel. As at Harvard, daily homework is infrequent, except in the physical sciences and commercial courses and term papers are not assigned to B.A. students. Minor exercises that are occasionally-rejuired tend to rehash material from the lectures or reading, with less emphasis on creative thought.

Study habits at Annamalai are certainly influenced by the living conditions in the dormitories. Quiet and privacy are hard to find in the crowded accomodations and many students will be found trying to concentrate sitting on the verandas of classfoom buildings.

Failure at 40 Per Cent

Annamalai does not have an honors program similar to Harvard's. Thus, a B.A. candidate does not become so involved in special scholarship through the writing of an honors thesis. A candidate may take his degree with distinction by achieving an average of 70 per cent or better on all the public exams, a "first-class" with 60 per cent or better, "second-class" with 50 per cent or better, "third-class" with 40 per cent or better. An average of under 40 per cent means failure. This low scale does not necessarily mean lower standards. The all-India examinations are reputedly difficult and certainly very competitive.

Rote memorization seems to be an important part of the learning process at Annamalai, and students here have an extraordinary capacity for memorization. Like students everywhere, they cram just before the examinations. They freely admit this is their procedure, explaining that daily study would be ineffective. "We would not be able to remember the facts that long. The only way to pass is to cram at the end."

Professional Problems

Problems of the teaching profession at Annamalai include working effectively within the externally determined syllabi and examinations. Some professors feel their creativity is hampered. But this national system does lend stability to the educational process in a time of great change. The promotional process is also accause for some concern. Advancement from lecturer to reader to professor is based entirely on seniority. In addition, a general policy of one professor to one department serves to maintain the average age of an Annamalai professor at about 50.

Teaching salaries have increased significantly since Independence, although they fall well below the standards for a faculty such as Harvard's. In spite of improvements, as number of teachers, especially among the lower paid instructors, spend much time at outside tutoring, earning as much as half of their total income from outside work.

Reform Efforts

A general feeling pervades the young, dynamic segment of the profession that many significant reforms should come within the next five or ten years. While many teachers are willing to criticize the system, some balk at efforts to effect concrete change. As one reader put it, they have too much of a stake in the old ways, in preserving the practices which make a teacher's job in some ways one of the least demanding in India today.

For instance, on the recommendation of the University Grants Com- mission, a certain portion of the Annamalai faculty has been trying for the past two or three years to gain approval of a measure that would put 30% of an arts student's grade on class work, instead of all on the public examination. To date they have been unsuccessful, but resistance has been gradually waning.

Coffee, Short, and Movies

Outside the classroom, the life of the Annamalai student is in some ways similar and in many ways still in contrast to that of the Harvard student. Much time is spent in "bull sessions," or lounging in the coffee shop. Weekly movies in English and Tamil are very popular. Almost all students participate in some sport, organized or not. However, a special reason for the popularity of the "cinema" and sports may be the dearth of other extracurricular activities.

Two years ago two American Fulbright students started a weekly newspaper which is now the single most impressive extra-curricular activity. The Student Union, composed of representatives from the various university departments, organizes some minor activities in the dormitories, but has no voice in the determination of administrative policies.

It is often inconceivable to students themselves that they could attempt to influence policy in the way that the Harvard Council for Undergraduate Affairs tried to do. One of the sources of this attitude is probably the hierarchical, authoritarian nature of Indian society where respect for elders is a central value.

Segregation of the Sexes

The cultural gap between the United States and India is directly responsible for some differences. The most obvious of these is the segregation of the sexes. Very little contact between male and female students takes place on any level. Students would be shocked to see a boy and girl talking casually on the street corners, while, in India, a boy taking a girl's right hand would indicate his intention to marry her.

It is especially difficult for Annamalai students coming from traditional village backgrounds to cope with the slightly more liberal situations at the university. The result is that Annamalai students would seems very naive by Cambridge standards in their attitudes towards the opposite sex.

Another cultural difference is manifested in the absence of voluntary activities on the campus comparable to Harvard's Phillips Brooks House, Combined Charities Drive, or student involvement in the civil rights movement and politics. Charity may take the form of individual gifts to beggars and others in need, but organized fund drives or social service are not part of the cultural pattern.

Concern with international affairs is relatively high, but active interest in domestic politics, say as campaign workers, is negligible. In general, the Annamalai student participates less in worldly affairs outside his immediate personal existence than his American counterpart.

What does the average Annamalai student look for in and want out of his university education? Most students seem to view their four years or more in the university as the prerequisite to a "degree" and thus to a good job. A B.A. or B.S. degree brings immediate prestige along with the prospect of economic security. In India's status-conscious and economically precarious society, both aspira-

The best students, especially in the sciences, get highly-coveted jobs in the Indian Administrative Service. Others settle for lower government posts or positions in industry. The quality of the work may matter less than the social status and economic security that go along with it. Furthermore, a better job may entitle them to a better marriage match, including a higher dowry.

The University Grants Commission recognizes that "the University should not be treated as though it were some kind of waiting room in which young men and women collect before entering upon a wage-earning career." But India's present educational goals stress promoting quantitative higher education. The possi-