Starting from 2015-16 academic year, teacher education in the country will see far-reaching changes with the implementation of professional courses in the field. Emphasis will be laid on teacher education in relation to pre-school and elementary education.
Speaking to Express on the sidelines of a conference held here on Friday, Santosh Panda, chairperson of the National Council for Teacher Education, observed that time has come to professionalise teacher education in the country.
‘’From 2015-16 academic year, a two-year diploma programme in elementary teacher education, four-year integrated course in teacher education and a three-year integrated BEd and MEd courses will be introduced. For the diploma courses, the eligibility is Class 12,” he said.
He lamented that there are no adequate trained teachers to teach pre-school and elementary students. ‘’It is the need of the hour, to bring in diploma or other programmes that exclusively concentrate on elementary education. For the admission into these programmes there will be an entrance test. Besides, we will offer specialised courses that incorporates constructivism approach,” he added.
With the mushrooming of the unchecked teacher training institutes across the country, the Council will frame new regulations to enhance the quality of institutes.
The state is known for the highest number of teacher training institutes.
‘’As on today, there are about 16,000 training institutes in the country. For instance in Andhra Pradesh, there is a surplus in the number of training institutes as against the demand. From 2015-16 academic year, the regulations framed by the Council will become binding on the state and the Central governments to ensure the quality of institutes before granting no-objection certificate,” he pointed out.
‘India has Scope for Good English Language Teachers’
There is a huge scope for good English language trainers as only a mere 10 per cent of the population speaks the language in India. However, the importance of English is only rising with each passing day, observed Rob Lynes, Minister of Cultural Affairs, British Council India. Addressing newsmen, alongside the International English Language Teacher Educator Conference he said, “There is a tremendous scope for English in India along with East Asian and South American countries which has to be matched with good English language teachers.” The three-day international conference, started on Friday, is an initiative of British Council India and the English and Foreign Languages University. The event will see participation of 1,000 national and international delegates and 100 eminent speakers on English language training. Highlighting the need to incorporate cultural aspects in teaching English language Sunaina Singh, vice-chancellor of EFLU said, “There has to be regular innovations in teaching methodologies to be on par with fast changing global scenario. However, it should be rooted in cultural paradigm.”