Meet the English professor who can’t spell ‘evaluation’

Two Uttar Pradesh-based associate professors have been teaching for more than a decade, yet they don’t know the spelling of ‘evaluation’ or the full form of ‘IMF’.

According to The Times of India, Shyam Bahadur and Anil Kumar Pal, associate professors in English and economics, respectively, were confronted by the evaluation coordinator of Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (ITHM), Agra. In a two-line letter seeking permission for evaluating papers, Bahadur spelt evaluation as ‘evalluation’. Pal did not know the meaning of ‘audit’ or the full form of ‘IMF’. Even after he was told what it was, he thought the full form was ‘International Money Found.’

While Pal teaches at Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, Jaunpur, Bahadur works at Bareilly’s Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University. Both are state-run universities. The evaluation centre has blacklisted both Pal and Bahadur.

UP governor Ram Naik was quoted as saying, “Mail me the details of the teachers. I will get it inquired into and take suitable action.”

Clearly, Bihar Board topper Rubi Rai isn’t an exception. The system has allowed other such ‘toppers’ to carry forward the legacy of ‘protigal science’.