One-time masters of the classroom

Teaching is known as a noble profession. Every one of us, including our nation's President is the product of teaching. The teacher is the one who moulds a child into what he will be in the future. A child is taught how to read, write, deal with others and deal with himself. The knowledge of the teacher is shared or transferred or imparted to the child from Science, Technology, Arts and Values. And when the child is ready to pursue a higher degree of education and specialisation, it is still the teacher who is guiding the child to attain his dreams and expectations. In ancient India, in the Gurukul system of education, students were taught total submission to the Guru. However, over the years this submission has undergone changed. The conditions of teachers has deteriorated.

What are the reasons? Why did it happen? Who are responsible? These are some of the questions that troubles policy makers, planners, administrators and general public, as all are affected by it in some way or the other.

The above questions are related with quality of education. The quality of education in common parlance, refers to the improvement in the content, delivery and achievement of the students. In the context of teachers, the inputs delivered to the children should result in higher achievement levels. The term quality may also imply the processes through which the inputs are translated into output and outcomes. In the end result, the quality should be tangible and visible in the performance of the school going children. But it doesn’t happen. Out of the total students who appear for secondary school examination, only 50 per cent of the students pass the examination.

Ministry of Human Resource Development’s Annual Status of Education Report 2008 states that 44 per cent children in Standard I cannot recognise alphabets in mother tongue and 35.4 per cent children in Standard II cannot recognise numbers beyond 10. The enrolment rates have gone up, yet learning levels at schools continue to be very low. The Central Government's annual budgetary allocations for education increased by almost 50 per cent from Rs 89,732 crore to Rs.1,34,274 crore between 2003-04  and 2006-07. In spite of it the quality of school education continues to remain poor across the country.

The reasons for the above condition are many. Lack of proper training to teachers; vacant teachers’ posts; absence of up-dated curriculum; engaging cheap, untrained teachers; teacher absenteeism; more teacher pupil ratio; multi-grade teaching, administrative duties other than teaching etc., are among the main reasons. In addition, teaching profession is also suffering because of lack of empirical research and proper implementation of its findings.

Reforms delayed

From last one decade, to improve the quality of school education, particularly teachers' education, the government is announcing one or other reform. The revised National Curriculum Framework, 2005 for schools stressed on revamping the teacher education programme. But the document containing detailed programme of revision of 'National Curriculum Framework for Teachers' was unveiled five years after announcing the NCF, 2005. It mentions creation of a uniform curriculum for teacher training across the country; up-gradation of professional competencies of teacher educators, student centric as well as participatory curriculum, training of teachers as per requirement of students, continuous training of teachers before and after joining service instead of one-time training,   empowerment of teachers through integration of ICT and e-learning etc. The idea is to make learning part and parcel of teaching. In the Sixth Pay Commission, even the pay scales of teaching community has been revised to respectable levels.

As envisaged by the Minister for Human Resource Development, there is a need to bring the best minds into the teaching profession, who are currently lured by MNCs offering good pay packages. If the education sector goes through the reform and improvement process envisaged, the days are not far when teaching will regain its image as a noble profession. 

(The writer is Assistant Professor in Department of Educational Administration at National University of Educational Planning and Administration, Delhi.)