Relevance: GS-2: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education; Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation

Key Phrases: Blended Learning, NEP 2020, National Curriculum Framework (NCF)-2005, National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2009, and Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009, National Council for Teacher Education, ECCE, FLN, Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST), National Mission for Mentoring (NMM)

Why in news?

• The National Education Policy’s stated goal is to “reinstate” teachers as the “most respected members of our society.”
• This can be achieved by ensuring their “livelihood, respect, dignity and autonomy”, while ensuring quality and accountability

Evolution of Teacher Education

• In the ancient times in India,
  • Teaching in the pristine environs of ‘gurukuls’ was truly multidisciplinary as it focussed on teaching life skills, martial skills, and imparting the teaching of “Vedas”.
  • A formal system of teachers’ training was introduced in India during the spread of Buddhism. The monastic system was prevalent in which every learner was to be placed under the supervision and guidance of a preceptor (Upajjhaya)
• The current style of schooling and teaching emerged during the British rule in India.
  • Inspired by the Victorian schooling system, this system focused on a behaviourist paradigm where education was concerned with preparing students to be disciplined, English-speaking clerks, to submissively execute the tasks of the British administration.
  • It prepared teachers too as mechanics mainly concerned with classroom teaching
• There has been a slow paradigm shift in the system of teacher education in India, with the successful introduction of
  • National Curriculum Framework (NCF)-2005,
  • National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2009, and
  • Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009
• The focus of the system has shifted away from disciplinarian, rote memorisation, to a collaborative construction of knowledge.
• Following the NCF 2005 and NCFTE, 2009, the teacher education strategy is aimed at imbuing the teachers with skills to become facilitators of knowledge rather than gatekeepers of information as well as
  • To make teaching less textbook-oriented and to connect knowledge to life outside the school
• The Justice Verma Commission in 2012 also stressed upon the need to improve the quality of pre-service and in-service teacher education.
• In 2014, the erstwhile Ministry of Human and Resource Development (MHRD) restructured its B Ed. programme by doubling the duration of the programme to two years.
• The new teacher education curriculum, designed by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) introduced several changes in the curriculum such as Yoga education, ICT, peace and value education, health and physical education, environmental education and population education.

Challenges

• Certain challenges with teacher education have continued to plague the sector including a system of training and recruitment that is churning ill-equipped and poorly trained teachers.
  • As on date, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has given approval to 11139 Courses with intake capacity for 690840 students. Similarly, 9455 B.Ed courses have been registered with an intake capacity of 937660 students. This is much higher than the annual requirement of new teachers which would be in the range of 3.5 to 4 lakh.
• Working in Solo
  • Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) have been working in isolation from the rest of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
• The multidisciplinary education, essential in developing a well-rounded personality, has been missing in the Teacher Education Institutions, which hitherto have been operating in a stand-alone manner.
• There has been no system to ensure only motivated and meritorious individuals select teaching as a profession.

Teacher Education Post NEP- 2020

• Teachers need to be updated with culture and beliefs of students and also with ever evolving technology
  • As technology and blended learning becomes a part of our daily lives, and life skills like collaboration, creativity and curiosity become more essential to succeed as professionals and individuals in the world, teachers also need to mentor students and link real-life experiences and skills with the curriculum that they teach.
  • Most importantly, teaching needs to be student-centric and joyful to foster the joy of learning and discovering among young people who will be leaders and entrepreneurs of the world. Keeping this in mind, NEP 2020 has proposed to revise and revamp aspects of teacher education, in line with the current trends, including its structure, regulation, and governance, through radical action so as to raise standards and restore integrity, credibility, efficacy, and high quality to the teacher education in the country.
• Recognising the ‘power of teacher’, NEP 2020 has put in place systemic reforms that would help ‘teaching’ emerge as an attractive profession of choice for bright and talented young minds and has put in place different interventions like
  • Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP),
  • National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST),
  • National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) and
  • At least 50 hours of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for every teacher in a year.
• The four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), a dual-major holistic bachelor’s degree programme offering B.A., B.Ed/B.Sc., B. Ed., and B.Com. B.Ed, will be the minimum entry requirement for teachers.
  • Since, a multidisciplinary environment is key for the holistic development of individuals, multidisciplinary universities and institutions will be encouraged to establish education departments and run teacher education programmes, in collaboration with other departments such as psychology, philosophy, sociology, neuroscience, languages, arts, science, etc.
  • All stand-alone Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) will be required to transform to multidisciplinary institutions by 2030.

Integrated Teacher Education Programme

• ITEP will teach cutting-edge pedagogy and offer a foundation in
  • Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
  • Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN),
  • Toy-Based Pedagogy
  • Stage-Based Pedagogy
  • Inclusive Education, and
  • A Comprehension of India and its values/ ethos/art/traditions, among others.
• In-classroom training and internships will also form an essential part of the programme.
• Teachers are expected to have good knowledge of the social, physical, emotional, cognitive, moral, and aesthetic development of the child as well as the experience of using the kind of pedagogy, content, medium of instruction as well as learning approaches that are relevant for her/ his pupils.
• Teachers are also expected to understand the different needs of children
  • Who come from socially and economically disadvantaged groups,
  • Students with special needs, and
  • Students who are gifted and require additional exposure and support than their peers.

National Professional Standards for Teachers

• The roll out of NPST is a continuum in teacher education so far as it would cover expectations for the role of teacher at different levels of expertise/experience at different stages of his/her career, and the competencies required for that stage. It will enable the teachers to strive for the next level of professional competence.
• A tech-enabled platform for self-assessment by teachers followed by a wide range of accrediting bodies (including SCERT/DIETs) will play a key role in assessing the beginner teacher, proficient teacher, expert teacher, and the lead teacher.
• Availability of online, offline, and blended modules to assist the in-service teachers in increasing domain expertise, deeper understanding of socio-psychological understanding, new methods in pedagogy, use of technology in education and leadership skills are being planned under the NPST.
• NPST, which sets clear benchmarks of the skills, competencies, disposition, and knowledge required among teachers, will also infuse a spirit of increased professionalism and healthy competition among teachers to be the best in their field as well as set clear pathways for career progression.

National Mission for Mentoring

• NMM for schools will be operationalised by NCTE by creating a large pool of outstanding senior/retired faculty as potential mentors for mentees (school teachers, Principals, teacher educators, etc.), regardless of the age or position of the mentor and mentee who will contribute towards realising 21st century developmental goals of our nation.
• NMM underlines the importance of the short and long-term mentoring/professional support to teachers and teacher educators

Conclusion

• It has been clearly established in the past that focus on pre-service and in-service teachers significantly impacts the learning outcome of students.
• The multi-pronged approach adopted by NEP, 2020 is likely to revitalise the teacher education, allow bright students to opt for ITEP as a matter of choice rather than by chance, and interventions like NPST, NMM, CPD, etc. contribute to qualitative changes in teachers’ pedagogic transaction.

Source: Yojana (February Issue)

Mains Question:

Q. Highlight the challenges in the ecosystem of teacher’s education and suggest a suitable way forward by considering provisions of National Education Policy 2020.