Daily Editorial analysis:-

GS2- Education

Outcome of education depends not only on the number of schools, infrastructure and facilities like books, internet but also the quality of teachers.

Context: In this regard, Rajasthan high court ruled that, individuals with B.Ed, are ineligible to be primary teacher. The relevant degrees should be diploma in elementary education(DElEd), or Bachelors in elementary education(BElEd). The supreme court upheld this decision.

Schooling till sixth is considered as primary education or elementary schooling, hence, teachers with diploma and degree in elementary education is a necessity. Schooling till 12th standard is considered as secondary.

Status of recruiting qualified teachers

1. Government and aided schooling: 60-64% of teachers recruited are BElEd or DElEd qualified.
2. Private schooling: Only 22% have DElEd or equivalent qualification. Only 43% are having BEd degree.
3. In elite government society led schools like Sainik school, army schools, only 24% have DElEd degrees.

Why are quality teachers necessary for primary education?

1. Grasping level of childrens below age 11 will be low, hence, especially designed teaching is needed. Hence, specialized teaching training is necessary and it is done in DElEd and BElEd.
2. RTE not only emphasises professional qualification but also appropriate qualification.
3. Primary education is crucial in entire education system. Foundational literacy and numeracy at primary level helps students to perform better at secondary and higher level education.

Way forward

1. Increasing DElEd, BElEd programmes in higher degree colleges so that specialized education becomes accessible to all.
2. Delhi University has come up with Integrate Teachers Education Programme(ITEP).

2. Reforming Teachers Eligibility Test: mean score in mathematics of TET qualifying candidates in below 46%. Hence, a cutoff is needed for each subject.
3. More government funded District Institutes of Education and Training(DIET), who students are performing better than the private funded DIETs.
4. BEd with specialization courses: Completing two of BEd should also equip them with DElEd and BElEd.
5. Special courses for BEd holders for around 6 months to 1 year so that they can avoid getting re-enrolled for two more years.

Thus, government’s support is necessary for developing teacher training institutes especially in the sector which is less appealing in terms of remunerative but more appealing in terms of creating changes in children’s life.