Chapter 50: Teacher Education

Introduction

With the rapid expansion of school education in India, the need for a large number of trained teachers has been felt acutely in the last five decades. This has resulted in the establishment of a vast number of teacher education institutions. However, the structure and the contents of the teacher education programmes have come under serious criticism for being static and unresponsive to changes in the schools and overall social system. Crass commercialisation has also eroded the quality of teacher education.

There is a growing feeling that it is not effective in turning out efficient teachers who should not only teach in the classrooms but also be agents of social change. A teacher education degree is considered to be an easily available qualification without much rigour involved in the process. This concern has been adequately reflected in the reports of several commissions on education and particularly in the document National Policy on Education (1986).

The Programme of Action on the policy document (1992) called for a complete overhaul of the system to make it responsive to current needs. Apart from poor course structure and contents, most of the teacher education colleges lack physical facilities and infrastructure, and have poor administrative system and inadequate number of teachers. A large number of colleges actually function only for three to four months. One of the outcomes of the Programme of Action was the establishment of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) as a statutory authority in accordance with the Act passed in December, 1993 to regulate teacher education. The Act came into force on July 1, 1995. (See Chapter 7) –Regulatory Authorities).

Categories of Teacher Education

Teacher education may be broadly grouped into five categories: education for (1) pre-primary and elementary school teachers, (2) secondary and higher school teachers, (3) physical education teachers, (4) teachers for the physically handicapped, and (5) teachers for specific subjects.

In educationally advanced countries, the entire teacher education system is a part of the university system and is characterised by equal rigour and prestige like other disciplines. In India, the Department of Education of the State Governments control institutions for elementary teacher education directly or through the State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERT). Education for secondary school teachers and physical education teachers is part of higher education system and is organised either in the Faculties of Education of universities or in separate teacher education colleges affiliated to them. Besides, Institutes of Advanced Study in Education (IASEs) has been set up in a number of States for the promotion of study and research in teacher education. They also offer B.Ed Courses under affiliation from universities.

Pre-primary and Elementary Teacher Education

Pre-primary teacher education is offered mainly by privately established schools generally recognised by the State Councils of Educational Research and Training, leading to certificates or diplomas in nursery teaching, early child care and education, and Montessori method. The courses are generally open to candidates who have passed secondary (Class 10) or (Class 10+2) examination.

The eligibility requirement for elementary teacher education programme is a pass in secondary or higher secondary examination. The District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) established as model institutions for preparing elementary teachers have prescribed senior secondary (Arts, Science, and Commerce) as the desired qualification requirement for admission to programmes offered by them. Different institutions have different nomenclatures of their awards, such as Basic Teaching Certificates (BTC), Junior Basic Training (JBT) Certificates, Elementary Teacher Education (ETE) Certificates, and DEd. Successful candidates are eligible for appointment as primary teachers for classes I-V.

Secondary Education Teachers.

Education for secondary education teachers leading to the award of Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree is of one-year duration. Earlier the nomenclature was Bachelor of Training (BT). Admission requirement is a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline. In some universities, the nomenclature of the award is Siksha Shastri. B.Ed course is offered by more than 120 universities. Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha (Chennai-600017) offers B.Ed courses in Hindi. B.Ed courses are also available through distance learning mode. Only recently, the NCTE had imposed rigorous norms on universities intending to offer it. This has been discussed in a subsequent section. The NCTE had proposed the B.Ed course should be of two year duration. This course has been introduced only in the four Regional Institutes of Education (earlier known as Regional Colleges of Education) at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar and Mysore.

An alternative approach to prepare teachers for secondary stage was initiated in 1964 by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) through the Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs). These four institutions used to offer integrated four-year course leading to the award of B.Sc. B.Ed., and B.A., B.Ed. degrees. The qualification requirement was a pass in higher secondary (10+2) examination (with science for B.Sc., B.Ed course). It was envisaged that four-year integrated programmes would gradually be adopted by all colleges. However, this did not materialise. The RIEs now offer only B.Sc., B.Ed. course of four-year duration. The entry requirement is a pass in 10+2 with PCM/CBZ. Several other universities have also started introducing such integrated programmes (See Annexure 1).

At the Master’s degree level, more than 100 universities offer one-year course leading to the award of M.Ed. degree. Some universities (e.g., Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati) named it Siksha Acharya. M.Ed. course is open to candidates possessing B.Ed. degrees. The course is of two-year duration. Introduction of M.Ed. courses in universities also needs the approval of the NCTE. In May 1999, the NCTE had asked them to apply for recognition of their M.Ed. courses.

Education, as a subject, is also offered both at the B.A (as one of the combinations) and the Master’s degree level. M.A in Education is of two-year duration and is offered by education faculties of more than 25 universities. They are open to Bachelor’s degree holders. Kalyani University (Kalyani-741235) and the Mysore University (Mysore-570005) offer M.A/M.Sc. (Education) and M.Sc. (Education) respectively which are open to B.Ed. degree holders. IGNOU offers a Ph.D (Education) course to distance mode.

Physical Education

Like teacher education, physical education is provided by separately established physical education colleges and university faculties of education. Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education (Gwalior-474002) is an exclusive university-level institution devoted to physical education and sports. It was the first institution to introduce the graduate and postgraduate courses in physical education. Two other reputed institutions in the field are Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (Thiruvananthapuram-695581), and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Science (New Delhi-110018).

Annexure 2 gives a brief account of their programmes. Physical education is offered at three levels, viz., first degree level, as one of the combinations, Bachelor’s Degree, and Master’s degree level. The Bachelor’s degree course, leading to the award of Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd or BPE), are offered by more than 45 universities. The duration of the course is three years and is open to candidates who have passed the 10+2 examination. Only seven universities have introduced courses in B.Ed (Physical Education) of one-year duration. Eligibility requirement is a Bachelor’s degree in any branch.

At the Master’s degree level, courses of both one-year and two-year duration are available. Of the 27 universities which have introduced the course, in 12 the duration is two years. Eligibility requirement for both is, however, BPEd (or BPE) degree. Five universities offer M.A (Physical Education) of two-year duration, while three others have M.Ed. (Physical Education) course. Annexure 3 gives a list of universities offering Master’s degree courses. Educational opportunities in Sports have been described in Chapter 52 (A Mixed Bag).

Teachers for the Disabled

Education of teachers for teaching students with various disabilities began in the voluntary sector involved in imparting education to children with visual impairment. The first ever masters level degree (M.Ed) course in the area of visual disability started at Sri Rama Krishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Education (Coimbatore), an autonomous college affiliated to the Bharathiar University. In 1983, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) initiated multi-category special education teacher preparation courses through the Regional Institutes of Education (then Regional Colleges of Education). However, they are no longer operational. The UGC has introduced a scheme for starting teacher preparation programmes for children with special needs.

The scheme called Teacher Preparation in Special Education (TEPSE) provides financial assistance to universities and colleges of education to start B.Ed. (Special Education) and M.Ed. (Special Education). With the establishment of the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) under the Rehabilitation Council Act, 1992 (See Chapter 7-Regulatory Authority) the programmes for teacher preparation have received great impetus. A large number of diploma courses of general nature as well as dealing with specific disabilities is now available. This has been discussed in Chapter 17 (Allied Health Sciences) under the section Rehabilitation Medicine and Therapy. Degree level courses (B.Ed. and M.Ed.), either general or specific in nature, are also being introduced by universities. All the courses need the approval and recognition of the RCI. Annexure 4 gives a list of institutions which offer B.Ed (Special Education) and M.Ed. (Special Education) courses, general in nature.

Teacher Education in Specific Subjects

Preparing teachers for teaching in specific subject areas was first mooted by the NCERT. As stated earlier, the four Regional Institutes of Education introduced four-year programmes for preparing teacher for teaching arts and science subjects. At present, they offer only B.Sc. B.Ed. course. Several other universities have also introduced similar programmes (See Annexure 1). A small number of universities also offer B.Ed. and M.Ed. programmes of one-year duration in specific subjects.

The Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (Hyderabad-500007) offers a number of programmes on Teaching of English as Second Language (TESL) at the Master’s, pre-Doctoral, and Doctoral level (See Chapter 37-Languages, Annexure 9). Regional Institute of English, South India (Bangalore-5600056) has also introduced PG Diploma in English Language Teaching through distance learning mode. The course is recognised by the NCTE. The University of Delhi (Delhi-110007) now offers a unique teacher education programme in elementary educaton leading to the award of BEIEd degree. It is an integrated course of four-year duration for which the entry requirement is a pass in 10+2 examination. At present, the course is available in six affiliated colleges.

The Regional Institutions of Education offer M.Ed (Elementary Education). Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) (New Delhi-110068) offers a Diploma in Primary Education specifically for teachers in North-Eastern States and Sikkim. A programme in distance learning mode it has three modules each of six month’s duration. The course is open only to in-service primary and elementary school teachers with two years of teaching experience. IGNOU has also introduced a certificate programme in Teaching of Primary School Mathematics through distance learning mode. Courses in adult education are available only at the post-graduate diploma level. Annexure 5 gives a list of courses in teacher education in specific subjects and areas (See also Update).

Teacher Education through Distance Mode

One of the major reasons for the qualitative deterioration of teacher education was the launching B.Ed. courses through distance learning mode in nearly thirty universities. Some universities even admitted 30,000 students every year and awarded B.Ed degrees to them. The NCTE has now issued guidelines which have been approved by the

UGC for B.Ed course through distance mode. The salient features of the guidelines are: (1) the duration should be 24 months exclusive of the time taken for completing admission formalities; (2) the admissions should be made on the basis of a written admission test; (3) admissions should be given only to regular teachers serving in recognised schools (primary, secondary, and higher secondary level) within the jurisdiction of the university and possessing a minimum two years of teaching experience; (4) no university should admit more than 500 candidates in a given academic year; and (5) for every 500 students, there should be a full time core faculty and additional complement of ten part-time faculty members.

Among the universities which have been permitted to offer the B.Ed course through distance learning mode are (1) Himachal Pradesh University (Shimla); (2) Maharshi Dayanand University (Rohtak); (3) Punjabi University (Patiala); (4) Tripura University (Agartala); (5) Kurukshetra University (Kurukshetra); (6) Karnataka State Open University (Bangalore), and (7) Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) (New Delhi). The IGNOU course is open to full-time teachers of recognised schools with two years of regular teaching experience.

Quality of Teacher Education

As stated earlier the NCTE’s jurisdiction extends over all categories and levels of teacher education. The Council had laid down guidelines for compliance by recognised colleges which include among others, appointment of full-time teachers, fixing the intake capacity at a minimum of 60 and not exceeding 120 students and the corresponding teacher-student ratio of 7:60 and 13:120, laboratories for specific courses including educational technology, residential facilities, seminar rooms and open ground for outdoor games. Admissions should be made on the basis of admission tests. The minimum number of training days should be between 210 and 220. No university should grant affiliation to a teacher education college without the prior approval of the NCTE.

All the existing teacher training institutions were asked to seek recognition of the NCTE. It made a fresh appraisal of the institutions before granting recognition. From time to time, through press notes, the NCTE had warned students not to take admissions in B.Ed colleges which have not been recognised by NCTE. Appointments of teachers in schools will be restricted only to those who have obtained B.Ed degrees studying in recognised colleges. NCTE’s website (http://www.ncte-in.org) provides a complete list of teacher training institutions at all levels that have received recognition. Detailed particulars have been given for each institution and each course offered by it (see Annexure 6). Of all the websites set up by regulatory agencies, it is user-friendly and the most informative. The NCTE has also published All India Directory of Recognised Teacher Training Institutions (20000) for the benefit of those who do not have Internet access facilities.

At least two institutions neither affiliated to any university, nor recognised by the NCTE offer B.Ed course. Their advertisements regularly appear in leading newspapers. One of them, Indian Education Council of UP, used to regularly appear in the list of “fake” universities published by the University Grants Commission. The other, Bharatiya Siksha Parishad, Uttar Pradesh has been removed from the list on court orders. The NCTE, however, through a public notice had advised the students not to join the institution as its B.Ed, M.Ed, JBT, NTT courses are not recognised by it.

Another issue relating to the qualitative improvement of the teacher education is the duration of the programme. The B.Ed. programme of one-year duration is an inherited legacy. Several committees of commissions, since the early 1940s, pointed out the desirability of increasing the period to two academic years. However, considering the existing practical realities of infrastructure, resources and expertise most of them recommended more working days (220-230) and enrichment of the educational inputs, rather than extending the duration. The NCTE, after considerable deliberations, had proposed that the B.Ed programmes should be of two-year duration. As stated earlier, to begin with, the Regional Institutes of Education at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Mysore had introduced the two-year courses. After reviewing the outcome, the decision about introducing the course nation-wide would be taken.

Career Opportunities

Though teaching as a profession may not be the most lucrative one, many find it extremely attractive because of the satisfaction it offers. There was a time when people used to join the profession despite the poor compensation it offered because they considered it as a mission to educate future citizens. The pay scale in a large majority of the schools, particularly those in the private sector, is abysmally low. Over a period, however, the salaries and benefits of teachers have considerably increased, particularly in government schools and in some affluent private schools. The compensation packages offered by the Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Novodya Vidyalayas, Sainik Schools, Railways Schools, all managed by Central government are quite attractive. Paid vacations and comfortable working hours make teaching a good career option.

Update

Technical Teachers Training Institutes (TTIs): Four TTIs were established in the mid-1960s at Bhopal, Calcutta, Chandigarh and Chennai by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (then Ministry of Education) to act as catalytic agents for ensuring quality of technician education in their respective region. At the initial stage, they, took initiatives to offer need-based HRD programmes through appropriate modes and to develop curricula and institutional resources for technician education system.

The emphasis, however, was shifted to assisting state Governments and polytechnics and to develop curriculum and institutional resources for technician education system.