In the current period, students acquire necessary knowledge and skills in accordance with modern educational standards, especially in the field of information technologies. However, at the higher education stage, they sometimes encounter teachers who cannot adequately utilize modern technologies.
This situation can negatively impact the quality of teaching. In this regard, the implementation of relevant examination or certification mechanisms for assessing the knowledge and skills of teachers working in higher education institutions in modern technologies may be considered appropriate by some.
Is it necessary for teachers working in higher education institutions to undergo a relevant examination or assessment process to ensure they acquire knowledge and skills in modern technologies?
Education technologist Shamil Sadiq, commenting on the topic to AzEdu.az, stated that evaluating teachers working in higher education institutions through a unified certification or centralized examination mechanism is not the correct approach:
"By what criteria and how can a university teacher be examined? A higher education teacher, by nature, should be more independent and free to structure the teaching process in accordance with their scientific approach, specialization, and audience. Applying the same approach to a secondary school teacher and a university teacher is methodologically incorrect. A secondary school teacher works with children, while a university teacher works with young adults who are already forming. Youth, in turn, primarily demands a free mind, critical approach, and an environment of independent thought.
Stifling this environment with artificial examinations and formal assessments is contrary to the spirit of higher education. From this perspective, a more logical and effective way is to ensure teachers' development not through mandatory examinations, but through continuous professional development mechanisms. That is, organizing various courses, seminars, and professional development trainings, as well as universities requiring specific skills and certificates from teachers in accordance with their own profile, is a more appropriate approach.
For example, if a teacher lecturing in engineering and technical faculties does not possess the ability to work with field-specific programs like AutoCAD, Python, and does not hold an international or reputable certificate confirming this, the university may either terminate cooperation with them or grant a certain transition period. The same rule applies to language teaching: if a foreign language teacher does not possess an internationally recognized certificate such as IELTS or TOEFL for that language, this should be evaluated within the university's internal criteria.
The main point here is that the decision should be made by the universities themselves, not by centralized institutions. Each higher education institution should determine its teacher selection and requirements in accordance with its academic strategy, specialization profiles, and quality standards.
Otherwise, the approach of “let's examine you on artificial intelligence programs, operating systems, or general IT knowledge” is not appropriate for today. No university that respects itself and its academic reputation would attempt to measure teacher quality with such primitive and formal mechanisms".
