A five on 10,” said Rishi Sharma, student of chemistry honours, St Xavier’s College. “Nah,” said Ambarish, his classmate. “Not more than three out of 10.” No, Rishi and Ambarish were not comparing their last class-test marks. They were simply rating one of their professors.

It’s always the teachers, who rate their students. For a change we decided to reverse the role and some results we got! Unlike the response from students in Jamshedpur last week, the response here was more positive, though complaints were no less, as one moved on to find out if it was a thumbs up or down for teachers in Ranchi. “Teachers ask us to be serious about studies. But who is to guide them on being serious?” asks a student of political science in an all-girls college in Ranchi. Ignoring the request for her name, she is off rattling more. “The moment a question is asked by a student, all that the teacher has to say is, ‘I will tell you the answer tomorrow.’ Most of us laugh, but later we do not forget to curse the teacher.”

Saif Ahmad of BIT-Extension Centre, Lalpur, didn’t hesitate to give a big thumbs down. “One of the teachers simply passes us notes to photocopy.” Many of them think it below their dignity to explain things to them, students rued. “As if they came into this world having learned everything in their mother’s womb,” a student moaned, while trying to stifle a giggle.

But three cheers...

For the teachers who have been given a big hurrah! A sign that education in Ranchi still has a lot going for it.

Sumedha Choudhury, student of mass communications, St Xavier’s College, says:“We make sure we never miss out on any class of prof Rajgaria of political science. He takes our subsidiary classes and that makes us want to change our course of study!” “He never takes attendance, but most of his classes have 100 per cent attendance,” her friend Amrita adds. Ashutosh Mishra, department of management, BIT, Extension Centre, Lalpur, too, has students swearing by his name. Amit Kumar, student of BBA, says: “Mishra sir is charming. He was the first to give us his personal number.”

Students want teachers to be accessible, not figures looking down from ivory towers. Those who manage to climb down are the ones who are placed on a pedestal.

Professor P.K. Choudhry, mechanical engineering department, BIT Mesra, happens to be one of them as one can make out by the gushings of Rajeev Rai. “Prof P.K. Choudhry is considered God by the students.”

Anand Sinha, a post-graduate student of Ranchi College, is happy that at least at the post-graduate-level he was lucky. “Teachers in our undergraduate courses did not come prepared. Thankfully, the scenario in post-graduate classes is different,” he said.

That’s one more hurrah to add to the list, which has not been too discouraging...