Administration

I must say my opinion is in the minority. After some discussion within the solar system, the idea of employing teaching assistant changed from asking them to help with the teaching to the orchestration of teaching and student affairs.

You may think all we need is more capable secretaries for these matters. But no. As VM, our professor of neurology, pointed out, "The problem is not really the workload of teaching; we are all eager to teach our students. Otherwise why should we take up an academic post? However, much of our energy is diverted to administrative matters related to teaching - fixing up timetables, coordination between panels and teachers, handling complaints and emergencies, and what not. You know, the whole of this morning I was engaged in a task entirely unrelated to teaching: I was asked to soothe some unhappy students!"

Many of us nodded. Nonetheless, I tapped on the shoulder of VM and shook my head, "My friend, a teaching assistant would not solve your problem. Students that could be moderated by a professor of neurology would respond very differently when they meet a teaching assistant!"

PS. As to the secretarial tasks of teaching administration, a certain degree of medical knowledge is often important. Since the actual amount of work is hardly substantial enough to occupy a full time doctor, asking an academic staff to take that up is an unavoidable compromise.