(iii) The following eight States have both kinds of problems on a large scale i.e. the backlog of untrained teachers as well as of unemployed teachers exceeds or approximates 10,000 in each of them:-
(Figures in Thousands)
State Elementary Teachers Secondary Teachers
Untrd Unemployed untrd Unemployed
1. U.P. 13.5 24.8 N.A
2. Bihar 11.7 23.0 N.A
3. M.P. N.A. 8.2 10.4
4. Rajasthan 14.1 10.1 N.A.
5. West Bengal 82.5 20.9 55.1 21.4
6. Orissa 14.0 14.5 N.A
7. Maharashtra 15.5 27.6 9.4 13.0
8. Karnataka 10.1 32.1 N.A
(N.A. Not Applicable, since at least one of the figures is less than 10,000) The State Govt. Subsequently reported a figure of 51,000 in 1987-88.
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II. TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE VIII PLAN-PRIORITIES, OBJECTIVES AND
STRATEGY
4. Teacher Education in the VIII Plan-Priorities The scope of teacher education is vast and there is always the danger of attempting to do too much in too short a time and with inadequate resources. Therefore, it is important that VIII Plan proposals are formulated in the light of certain clear overall priorities.
In School Education sector, Universalisation of Primary/Elementary Education (UPE/UEE) will continue to be the paramount objective during the VIII Plan period. It follows therefore that in Teacher Education sector also, those areas should be given overriding priority which have a bearing on the above goal. In specific terms, therefore, Elementary Teacher Education must get requisite priority in the Teacher Education sector, and within Elementary Teacher Education, those interventions would have to be given priority which are directly relatable to UPE/UEE. Whatever resources are made available in the area of Teacher Education during the VIII Plan must, in the first instance, be applied to the primary/elementary teacher education sub-sector to the extent necessary to achieve the goal of UPE/UEE. Resources should be allocated to other areas only to the extent available after meeting the above first charge.
5. Teacher Education in the VIII Plan-Objectives Subject to the above framework of priorities, objectives for the VIII Plan in the Teacher Education sector may be stated as follows: -
(i) Improvement in the content (including relevance) and process of pre-service teacher education programmes;
(ii) To ensure, as far as possible, continuing education of a suitable kind for every teacher and teacher educator to facilitate their professional development, and to equip them to implement the thrusts envisaged in NPE, 1986;
(iii) improvement in the quality of teacher education institutions and phasing out of sub-standard and malpractising ones and
(iv) Liquidation of the large backlog of serving teachers who are either underqualified and/or untrained, in some States, and of unemployed trained teachers in others, and generally removing the mis- match which exists between demand and supply of trained teachers in several parts of the country.
6. National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) Before we come to spelling out the programmatic strategy for the V111 Plan for achieving the above objectives, it would he useful to first outline what is intended to be achieved through the intervention of the NCTE. The NPE 1986 and its Programme of Action envisage conferral of statutory status on the NCTE to enable it "to accredit teacher education institutions and provide guidance regarding curricula and methods". Pursuant to this, steps are being taken to make NM a statutory body which will lay down basic norms and guidelines regarding teacher education courses and institutions. The statutory Council would see to it that only such courses and institutions as conform to its broad guidelines, are allowed to continue, and sub-standard ones are phased out.
7. NCTEs role in the context of the VIII Plan objectives Of the four VIII Plan objectives stated in para 5 above, (i) will be the responsibility solely of the statutory NCTE, while it would have an important role to play in achieving (iii) also, in as much as it would disaccredit
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sub-standard and malpractising institutions and work towards improvement in standards of others. The nature of NCTE interventions would be of an academic and/or regulatory nature and crucial though they would be, they would not have very large financial implications. On the other hand, :achievement, of objectives (ii) and (iv) stated above as also of (iii) to the extent it encisages improvement of existing TEls, would have considerable financial implications which need to be reckoned while formulating our programmatic strategy in the Teacher Education sector for the VIII Plan period.
8. Teacher Education in the VIII Plan: Strategy To achieve the objectives stated in para 5, following would be the main elements of our strategy (besides NCTE interventions): -
A. In the Central Plan: (i) Creation and strengthening of Necessary Institutional infrastructure through
(a) continuation of the Teacher Education Scheme so as to achieve the left-over targets of the VII Plan (i. e. say, the remaining 150 DIETs, 200 CTEs/IASEs, and strengthening of a number of SCERTs and University departments of Educational Studies), and
(b) continuing support to the 250 DIETS and 50 CTEs/IASEs likely to be sanctioned by the end of the VII Plan, both for non- recurring and recurring items - the former to make good the deficiencies still left after the first dose of Central assistance, and the latter to ensure that these institutions are not starved of funds in taking up, on an adequate scale, in- service training and other activities, which was the precise purpose for setting them up.
(ii) A variety of programmes for in-service and continuing education of teachers, including establishment of distance education facilities for the purpose,so as to provide at least certain minimum service education inputs to every teacher over the VIII Plan period.
(iii) Improvement in the process of Teacher Education through, inter alia
(a) a suitable HRD programme for Elementary and Secondary Teacher Educators and for staff in the SCERTs, and
(b) promotion of preparation and production of good quality teaching learning material in Indian languages for pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes.
B. In the State Plans: (i) Elimination of backlog of underqualified and/or untrained teachers within the VIII Plan period, through a package of measures,
(ii) Strengthening of TEIs not selected for upgradation into DIETs/CTEs/IASEs but whose continuation is necessary on manpower considerations, and
(iii) Opening of new TEIs, especially ETEIs, in States where manpower requirements so warrant.
Specific programmes to operationalize the above strategy are being discussed in the following sections and their rough financial implications have been given in Chapter-5. Following is a summary of the required financial outlays:-
Central Plan:- Rs. 1560 crores
State Plan:- Rs. 360 crores;
Total:- Rs. 1920 crores
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III. PROGRAMMES IN THE VIII PLAN PERIOD-CENTRAL PLAN
9. Creation and Strengthening of Institutional Infrastructure
9.1 Left-over Targets of the Teacher Education Scheme from the
VII Plan: As already noted, there is likely to be a shortfall in meeting VII Plan targets to the extent of about 150 DIETs and 200 CTEs/IASEs, besides a substantial number of SCERTs and University Departments. in view of the crucial role of these institutions in the educational reorganisation visualized in NPE, 1986, the Scheme should be continued during the VIII Plan, with suitable revised financial norms, and remaining targets met. For SCERTs, in particular, norms of Central assistance should be considerably enhanced because the originally fixed ceiling of Rs.15 lakhs (on a matching basis) has turned out to be totally inadequate. There is also every possibility that, for a certain number of DIET, CTE/ IASE and SCERT projects sanctioned in the VII Plan period, the second instalment of non recurring assistance would not be released during this plan period. Such spill-over liability would also have to be met in the VIII Plan. The component of establishment and strengthening of University Departments of Educational Studies may continue to he funded through the UGC.
9.2 Continuing Support to DIETs, CTEs and IASEs established
during the VII Plan: The earliest lot of DIETs, CTEs and IASEs were sanctioned in February-March, 1988. Since these were the very first institutions of their kind ever sanctioned, they are likely to take at least two years to get hilly operationalized. Nearly All sanctions for such projects in 1988-89 also Could issue in the last quarter only, because only by then could States show tangible progress in regard to the 1987-88 projects.Though the projects sanctioned in 1988-89 should take less time than the first lot of them, one year is an absolute minimum for any project of this nature to be implemented.
As of now, recurring Central assistance for the above items would cease as on 31.3.1990. However, that will he precisely the time when they would be becoming more or less fully operational. Nothing would be more disabling for them in achieving their objectives, than for Central support to get withdrawn at that crucial state, because States Would find it extremely difficult to fund these institutions for in- service programmes and other recurring items on the scale envisaged, so soon after their establishment. In fact, nearly all of them have already expressed their inability in this behalf, and some are even having second thoughts about posing any more projects for Central assistance during the VII Plan period. Therefore, in the interest of the larger objectives of the Scheme it is imperative that Central assistance for recurring expenditure be continued for all VII Plan institutions in the VIII Plan also. Further, due to limitations of financial norms settled in 1987-88, mid the escalating costs of construction and equipment, most of these institutions would need an additional dose of non-recurring Central assistance also towards hostel, staff quarters, library, etc. Provision Rs. 25 lakhs per institution, on an average should be made towards second dose of Central assistance for VII Plan institutions, so that they are able to really come up as well equipped and capable institutions.
10. In-Service and continuing education of teachers
10.1 Objectives and General Considerations: Before we come to the logistics of providing in-service and continuing education to teachers, let us briefly consider its objectives. These could perhaps be summarised as follows:-
(i) To develop in every teacher, as far as possible, knowledge, skills and attitudes which may be necessary for him to effectively implement the main components of educational policy, and
(ii) To afford teachers opportunities of professional growth suited to their individual background, aptitude, talent and choice.
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In the context of the first objective stated above, main components of NPE, 1986, in the Elementary and Secondary Education sectors have been listed in Annex-8.
One major difference between in service training of primary and secondary school teachers in the respective areas listed above is that while primary teachers constitute a relatively homogenous group to which broadly the same set of knowledge and skills have to be imparted, at the secondary level, these become, if not subject- specific, at least, discipline-specific, i.e. a teacher in Humanities would have to be trained differently from one in Science or Commerce or Vocational subjects. Teachers of upper primary stage fall in between these two categories.
The subject/discipline-specificity of the training needs of secondary and, to the extent applicable, Of upper primary) teachers would have to be kept in view in devising suitable programmes for them.
10.2 In-service education of Teachers: Modalities Ideally, decisions about ways of providing in- service education in a cost-effective manner should be taken based on findings of appropriate research, keeping in view the objectives states in para 10. 1, and the relevant areas listed in Annex 8. However, research in this areas, especially in the context of the NPE, is not quite adequate. While it is hoped that the statutory NCTE will examine the matter in depth and also promote appropriate research in this area, for the present, formulation of a desirable pattern of in-service education for teachers has to be attempted on the basis of available expert opinion, and on considerations of a priori and practical nature.
The NCT-I, in its report submitted in March, 1985, had recommended that "attendance at an in-service training course be made mandatory for every teacher at least once in five years", that the length of such a course may be two weeks, and that a provision of Rs. 500/- per trainee be made for such a programme. The NCT-I had also in addition recommended a variety of other methods for providing in-service education to teachers.
The report of the NCT-I pre-dated the NPE, 1986. In view of the ambitious goals of qualitative improvement and universalisation stated in the NPE, a training course of two weeks may prove quite inadequate. Still, based on NCT's recommendations and other relevant considerations, a pattern like the following could be suggested as being desirable for every teacher to undergo:-
(i) Training in the contact mode of a minimum duration of two weeks (preferably 3-5 weeks) over a five year cycle (This could be through a single contact programme or more than one, shorter programmes, as may be found feasible and effective;
(ii) Regular professional meetings during the academic session at the level of the school (in the case of Secondary/Higher Secondary schools) and of school complex (in the case of elementary schools) where:-
(a) teachers could receive in-service education messages through audio visual aids and through interaction with resource persons and peer group, and
(b) messages conveyed through contact, audio visual and other modes could be validated and reinforced through demonstrations, sharing of experiences, etc.; and
(iii) Professional support through the print media.
In the next three paragraphs (10.3-10.5) programmes are being Suggested to operationalise the above modalities.
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10.3 In-service education programmes in the contact mode In-service education programme will have to be organised, in the first instance, in the DIETs and CTEs/ IASEs being set up under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme. However, even when all 400 DIETs and 250 CTEs/ IASEs are established in the country, and all of them become fully operational, they would be able to organise contact programmes on the above pattern for only a part of the entire teacher population, as would be clear from the following table: -
Category Estimated No. of teachers Estimated no. Total no. of
of no. at to be trained of teachers one teachers who
teachers the middle annually so as DIET/CTE/IASE could be covered
of VIII to cover all in could train by 400 DIETs/
Plan five years in a year 250 CTEs and
through progms. IASEs annually
of min. 2 weeks'
duration
1. Elementary 35.0 lakhs 7.0 lakhs 600 2.4 lakhs
Teachers (in 400 DIETs)
2. Secondary
(incl Hr. 12.0 lakhs 2.4 lakhs 600 1.5 lakhs
Secondary) Teachers (in 250 CTEs/IASEs).
It would thus be seen that even after the targetted number of 400 DIETs are established, they would be able to cover barely a third of the target elementary teacher population. In the case of CTEs and IASEs, this coverage would be around 60% (it needs, however, to be kept in mind that, by the end of VII Plan, we would have set up only one-fifth of the targetted CTEs/IASEs; operationalisation of all the full 250 CTEs/IASEs may be achieved only towards the end of the VIII Plan period.) Therefore, ways would have to be devised of organising contact programmes for those teachers who cannot be trained in DIETs/CTEs/IASEs. This could be done in the following manner:-