The country’s first CBSE teachers’ training institute is likely to be set up on the campus of the Cochin Regional Centre of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in Kaloor.
CBSE officials, led by chairman Vineet Joshi, along with Kerala CBSE School Management Association representatives, visited the campus on Monday and interacted with IGNOU officials as part of choosing the campus as the location for the proposed institute.
“The CBSE team was satisfied with the facilities at the IGNOU campus. Some minor infrastructural improvements need to be carried out, which the chairman informed can be done in around one-and-a-half months,” Kerala CBSE School Management Association chairperson Indira Rajan told ‘Express’.
A training institute for CBSE teachers had been the long-pending demand of the association. It had sent a proposal to the CBSE four months ago, saying that such a training institute would not only help in improving the quality of teaching, but also incorporate the latest trends in education.
“Union Minister Shashi Tharoor had also been very supportive of the proposal and actively pursued the matter with CBSE officials,” Indira Rajan said. In fact, the announcement of the setting up of the centre in Kochi was made by Tharoor while inaugurating the association’s state convention in Angamaly the other day.
The CBSE had recently modified its affiliation by-law and included a course on teachers training. The board had directed affiliated schools to conduct at least one teacher training programme every year in collaboration with agencies recognised by the state government or the board.