Three-Pronged Strategy for Improving the Quality of School Teachers

Stating this the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Shashi Tharoor said that to improve the quality of school teachers.

The Government has adopted a three-pronged strategy, which includes

• The strengthening of Teacher Education Institutions.
• The revision of curriculum for teacher education in accordance with the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education 2009.
• The laying down of minimum qualifications for Teacher Educators and their continuous professional development.

The Government has approved a project of over 6300 crore rupees Project for the Strengthening of Teacher Education during the current five year plan.

The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has been revamped with the appointment of the foremost Teacher Education experts in the country as members.

It has been declared as the Academic Authority under section 23(1) of the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009.

The NCTE has accordingly laid down the minimum qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in classes I to VIII in a school.

In addition, all aspiring teachers have to qualify the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) to be eligible for appointment as teachers.

The RTE Act also provides that persons who do not possess the prescribed qualifications would be required to acquire the same within a period of 5 years.

The State Governments have accordingly taken up the training of 6.6 lakh untrained in-service teachers through the distance mode.