My long stint at Ness Wadia College of Commerce

College and its surroundings

I have spent four decades in the college – four years as a student and thirty seven as a teacher. It was a very long, almost continuous association during which I witnessed quite a few transformations of the college.

It began as a small, late starter in a corner of the campus which belonged to Nowrosjee Wadia College really. Cusrow Wadia institute had a different culture and a different type of students. Ness Wadia building was no patch on the imposing, stone edifice of Nowrosjee Wadia College. Staff members of Nowrosjee Wadia College looked down upon both teachers and students of Ness Wadia College initially. Among other commerce colleges in Pune also, it stood apart because of the Wadia tag. Cosmopolitan atmosphere, emphasis on sports and outdoors, a high level of spoken English and a happy-go-lucky attitude were noticeable features of Wadia ethos. It was a part of the culture of eastern Pune, particularly Pune cantonment area. There used to be a huge cultural divide between west and east Pune then. Pune, the seat of Peshwas and the focal point of Marathi culture was actually west Pune.

Today, Ness Wadia College has overtaken Nowrosjee Wadia College in terms of number of students and activities carried out. The profile of teachers and students has changed so much today that it is like any other college in Pune. The ‘hep’ crowd has perhaps moved on to private universities. The level of English has declined and other languages such as Persian, Urdu, Sindhi, and Gujarati etc. have disappeared from the commerce course. Given the internal and external changes to which the university system has been subject since 1970, this result was probably inevitable.

One incident, way back in 1985 is etched in my memory. While waiting in a queue at Silver Jubilee petrol pump to fill petrol in my scooter, I heard two gentlemen ahead talking of college admissions. One confidently told the other: “Send your son to Ness Wadia College. It has excellent faculty. Your son will do well.” This was praise indeed and it made me very happy.

Commerce was not treated as an academic faculty in the 1960s and 1970s. So much so that the university of Pune opened its commerce department only in the 21^st century. However, today it is the preferred undergraduate course. Nonetheless, attendance of students is a big problem in all commerce college because the syllabi and examinations are pretty simple. Ness Wadia College has one distinction: attendance by students has generally been good. This is more so after a new building and an open air theatre were added to the college campus.

What Commerce syllabus lacks in depth is perhaps made up for by its constant revision. Practicals were introduced in early 1980s and subject syllabi have been regularly updated. The latest change introduced by the university is credit-based post-graduate courses. These keep M.Com. teachers and students on their toes. By and large, these changes have been beneficial.

My contribution

My first year as a teacher in the college was disastrous. I simply did not have the confidence that is necessary to make simple points in a loud voice and a no-nonsense approach before students. I watched with despair as my students turned to the next classroom where a more experienced teacher taught the same subject. The misery I endured then led to a resolution to try my best to become a good teacher. As a commerce teacher, I could easily move among diverse subjects such as cost accounting, business administration, business management, strategic management, communication and secretarial practice etc. This and syllabi revisions helped me keep boredom away and then there was research.

Over the years, my observations and reading helped me crystallize some principles. The first principle is that academic and administrative work are different. Teachers must concentrate on the former. There is an acute shortage of good teachers while administrators are many. It is difficult to be a good teacher rather than a good administrator. (Ironically, I taught Business Administration for a number of years.) A good teacher has to work hard continuously on his/her own.

The second principle is that academics must have an upper hand over administration. All the great educational institutions, be they Oxford and Cambridge, Ivy League colleges and IITs and IIMs ensure that academic considerations have the final say. In other words, teachers must be the final arbiters in syllabus formation, conduct of examinations and results. There are many non-academic pressures on teachers but they must be countered. This I tried to do to some extent. The idea was to spread the message that merit matters, that students have to work, have to be sincere, honest and that they do not get anything free. The pressure to pass all students at the end of the year has now become enormous. This makes a mockery of education.

I paid a price in terms of isolation to implement these simple principles. Looking back, I am happy that I did so.

Teachers and classroom teaching matter even today. By observing the teacher, students imbibe many values. I have seen that B.Com. and M.Com. students have little confidence. They think BBA and MBA students are much smarter than them. Students must be able to interpret the world around them on the basis of the knowledge and the tools that they have been given in the college. This is not happening and it is a major failure of commerce faculty.

As I look back today at my college career, I have fond memories of the college library, S.Y.’D’ classes, practicals of Business Communication, project reports of M.Com. and of course, my own room on the top storey of the old building. Free access to all books and magazines in the library and permission to order books were a privilege which is sorely missed in retirement. These memories allow me to look back on my teaching career with some satisfaction.   

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