English Language Questions for CLAT | QB Set 33

Indian academia operates on a foundational fiction that every university faculty member is, at once, a brilliant researcher and an inspired teacher. This assumption, baked into hiring norms, promotion criteria, and institutional rankings, is actively damaging higher education in India and is simply unrealistic. The university system today demands that anyone wishing to build a career as a college teacher must first earn a PhD, then continuously publish research to qualify for increments and career advancement. While the logic may seem reasonable on the surface, in practice, it produces a quiet catastrophe. 

Teaching and research are distinct vocations, each demanding a different temperament, a different set of skills, and a different relationship with knowledge. A researcher must possess the patience to sit with uncertainty, the rigour to challenge existing ideas, and the drive to produce original thought; often in isolation, over years. A good teacher, by contrast, must be able to break complex ideas into digestible parts, hold a room, adapt to different learners, sustain curiosity in young minds, and build a course that has pedagogical coherence. There is no reason to assume these qualities naturally coexist in the same person. It is, in fact, rather rare. 

By forcing every faculty member to do research, we have created a perverse incentive structure. Those who are natural teachers but lack research aptitude are compelled to produce academic papers regardless. The result is a flood of substandard research and a thriving predatory journal industry that profits from it. Journals that charge a fee and publish without meaningful peer review are not a fringe phenomenon in India. They are a structural response to a structural demand. Add to this the well-documented trade in PhD degrees and ghost-written dissertations, and what emerges is an ecosystem of institutionalised academic dishonesty sustained by a system that asks people to do what they are not built to do. 

Researchers, those genuinely engaged in the production of knowledge, are poorly served by mandatory full-time teaching loads. Good research demands uninterrupted time to read, to think, to write, to revise. A teaching-heavy semester fractures exactly this kind of time. Researchers also face evaluation pressures tied to their classroom performance, creating disincentives that are both unfair and counterproductive. Meanwhile, students in their classes suffer, not because researchers are bad people, but because standing before undergraduates and explaining the basics of a discipline, with patience and skill, is simply not what many of them do well or wish to do. 

The question of institutional rankings adds another layer. University rankings, both domestic and global, heavily rely on research output. These pressure institutions to require all faculty to publish, regardless of their actual role or skill set. Institutions have even adopted policies that structurally prefer quantity over quality, also termed as a focus on, and encourage unethical research practices, including unwarranted institutional self-citations and dubious collaborations. 

To expand access without destroying quality, we must be honest about what we are asking people to do and stop asking one person to be two things at once.

(Source: Indian Express) 

Question 1 What is the central argument made in the passage?

A. Indian universities should stop conducting research altogether.

B. Research output should be the only criterion for university rankings.

C. Teaching and research require different skills and should not always be combined in one role.

D. Faculty members in India are unwilling to work hard.

Question 2 Why does the author describe predatory journals as a “structural response to a structural demand”?

A. Because faculty members are pressured to publish research for career advancement.

B. Because students demand easier access to journals.

C. Because universities lack proper libraries and infrastructure.

D. Because researchers prefer publishing in low-quality journals.

Question 3 According to the passage, why are genuine researchers negatively affected by mandatory teaching loads?

A. They are unable to interact with students effectively.

B. They do not receive adequate salaries for teaching.

C. They prefer administrative work over classroom teaching.

D. Heavy teaching responsibilities interrupt the uninterrupted time required for quality research.

Question 4 What does the phrase “foundational fiction” in the first paragraph imply?

A. Universities are entirely imaginary institutions.

B. The assumption that every faculty member can excel equally at teaching and research is unrealistic.

C. Research and teaching are identical activities.

D. Faculty members intentionally avoid research work.

Question 5 Which of the following best reflects the author’s suggested solution?

A. Institutions should recognise teaching and research as separate roles requiring different strengths.

B. Universities should abolish PhD requirements for all teachers immediately.

C. Students should evaluate teachers instead of universities.

D. Only researchers should be hired as faculty members.

Answers with Explanations

1. Correct Answer: C

The passage repeatedly argues that teaching and research are “distinct vocations” requiring different temperaments and skills. The author believes forcing one person to excel at both harms higher education quality.

2. Correct Answer: A

The author explains that faculty members are compelled to publish research papers for promotions and career growth, even if they lack research aptitude. This pressure creates demand for predatory journals that publish papers for a fee without proper review.

3. Correct Answer: D

The passage states that good research requires uninterrupted time for reading, thinking, and writing. Teaching-heavy semesters “fracture exactly this kind of time,” making it difficult for researchers to produce quality work.

4. Correct Answer: B

The phrase “foundational fiction” refers to the unrealistic belief that every faculty member can naturally be both an excellent researcher and an excellent teacher. The author argues this assumption damages the education system.

5. Correct Answer: A

In the concluding paragraph, the author suggests that institutions must stop expecting one person to “be two things at once.” This means recognising teaching and research as separate professional strengths.