TEACHER EDUCATION TOWARDS QUALITY AND INNOVATION
Education is one of the most important building blocks for a nation, serving as an instrument of economic and social development. Within this context, the all important role of the teacher is well recognised, as imparter of knowledge and information to students who are the future citizens of tomorrow. In India, the role of the teacher as not only an educator but also a guide, has been emphasised through the centuries. In the present context too, the role remains as critical as ever.
Teacher Education at a Glance
No. of teachers in formal schools,
ECCE, NFE and FE centres 5 million
Teacher educators in academic,
vocational and co-curricular areas 30,000
Teacher education institutions
catering to all levels and areas
of school education 2,000
Universities having Faculties of
Education 150
DIETs focusing on in-service
training of elementary teachers
besides conducting pre-service
training 433
No of STEIs upgraded into CTEs/
IASEs 110
No of SCERTs strengthened 19
In India, teachers comprise the largest, most steadily growing profession. During 1990-95, the total strength of teachers at different levels of school education increased from 4 million to 4.4 million, an increase of 6.5%.
One area that is considered as vital for the enhancement of the education system is teacher education. This field has been accorded special emphasis in the face of recent social, economic, political and technological advances, particularly the challenges posed by information and communication technologies, globalisation, growing rate of knowledge obsolescence and lack of social cohesion. The Government of India has upgraded educational infrastructure to prepare hundreds of thousands of teachers for their profession.
Teacher Education Scheme The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Restructuring and Reorganising of Teacher Education, consists of the following components:
1. Establishment of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) to provide quality pre-service and in service training to teachers and Adult Education Non-formal Education instructors, thus providing academic and resource support to the, elementary and
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adult education systems and to engage in action research and innovation in these areas.
2. Upgradation of selected Secondary Teachers Education Institutions (STEIs) into Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs)/ Institutes of Advanced Study in Education (IASEs) to provide similar facilities to the secondary school education system. The IASEs are expected to take up the training of elementary teacher educators besides emphasising on research and innovations.
3. Strengthening of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) by conferring an independent and autonomous status on them with the responsibility to supervise and guide the functioning of DIETs, District Resource Units (DRUs) and other teacher training institutions.
4. Strengthening of the Departments of Education in universities (through the UGC) so that they can provide academic support to the network of training institutes set up at various levels.
5. Special Orientation Programme for Primary Teachers (SOPT), was taken up in 1993-94, to provide orientation to primary teachers in the use of teaching learning material supplied under Operation Blackboard and to also train them in the Minimum Levels of Learning strategy with focus on teaching of language, mathematics and environmental studies.
Block and Cluster Resource Centres Block Resource Centres (BRCs) are visualised to give an impetus to elementary education at the block level by providing opportunities and facilities for professional growth to elementary school teachers and heads, Adult Education (AE) and Non-Formal Education (NFE) functionaries. They will in fact be extensions of DIETs at the sub- district level and act as resource centres.
It is also proposed to set up Cluster Resource Centres (CRCs) on a pilot basis for a cluster of primary schools in rural areas. They would provide a forum for professional development of teachers through peer group interaction under the overall guidance of DIETs/BRCs. The objective is to enhance teacher competency through group discussions and interaction with resource persons on a regular basis.
Teacher Training through Distance Education India has considerable experience and expertise in interactive distance education. This mode has been used to cover large numbers with improved quality of training. A significant innovation in distance education is the means to reaching teachers in remote areas through satellite transmission. This technology (interactive teleconferencing) has been successfully tried in the two states of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh for 850 and 1,450 primary teachers respectively, for a one week in-service training course. A National Plan for Action providing in-service training to primary teachers through interactive distance education has also been developed.
National Council for Teacher Education The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) was established by the GOI on August 17, 1995, as an apex organisation responsible for the regulatory as well as professional aspects of teacher education. The major functions of the council are: developing norms for various teacher education courses, recognition of teacher education institutions, laying guidelines with respect to the minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers, surveys and studies, research and innovations, and prevention of commercialisation of teacher education.
During the brief period of its existence, the council has laid down norms and standards for pre-primary, elementary and secondary level teacher education institutions. Norms for B.Ed. through the distance education mode, and M.Ed. have also been prepared.
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Minimum Levels of Learning The National Policy on Education, 1986, brought to the forefront the need for focusing not only on quantitative aspects but also on quality in terms of achievement levels. Towards this end, a committee constituted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development specified the basic competencies to be achieved by all children at the primary stage in the form of Minimum Levels of Learning (MLLs) in selected subjects such as Language, Mathematics and Environmental Studies across the country. The effort of the programme is to make the curriculum and text books more comprehensive and relevant as well as to facilitate uniform, comparable levels of achievement among the states. The first phase of the programme was implemented through voluntary agencies, research institutions, SCERTs and DIETs. Currently, 12 states are implementing the programme through the institutional mechanism of around 200 DIETs and the programme is being up-scaled. MLL approach has so far been successfully introduced at the primary level.
The programme aims to lay down learning outcomes expected from basic education at a realistic, relevant and functional level, prescribes the adoption of measures that would ensure that all children who complete a stage of schooling achieve these outcomes. The endeavour is to monitor learning achievement, to direct greater resources where levels of learning are lower, and to consciously accelerate the pace of development in the needy areas, thereby reducing disparities, equalising standards and determining inputs for quality improvement and enhanced efficiency of the system.
It is proposed that in future, efforts made so far will be consolidated and further support will be extended to various activities contributing to enhanced levels of learner achievement. Under this scheme, financial assistance is being provided to the state governments for a wide range of activities such as preparation of competency-based textbooks, training of teachers, preparation of teaching learning materials, orientation of education personnel and conducting benchmark surveys.
Future Strategies * Expansion and consolidation of DIETs, CTEs, IASEs and SCERTs.
* Strengthening of the other teacher training institutes.
* Strengthening of NCTE.
* Partnership of national level institutes to achieve the desired objectives of improvement of content, processes and management of pre-service and in-service education programmes.
* Greater involvement of voluntary agencies, whose innovative and experimental programmes have borne laudable results.
* Networking of state institutions for improvement in teacher education.
* Use of distance education for in-service training.
* Streamlining of the project formulation, and clearance machinery through the involvement of experts at the national level.
* Proper and timely utilisation of funds by the states with regard to DIETs and other institutions.
* Periodic research monitoring and evaluation of CSS of Restructuring and Reorganising of Teacher Education.
* Linking training with career advancement.
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