The Centre has made it compulsory for all elementary school teachers to clear an eligibility test under new norms that are binding on states and could irk those like Bengal which follow their own recruitment rules.
Under the guidelines, which seek to change the current procedure of recruitment by state governments, a Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) has been made mandatory.
The new rules say local authorities will have to hold a state-level TET before recruiting teachers.
“All states will have to implement the new norms and conduct the eligibility test for recruitment. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) will frame detailed guidelines on how to conduct the test and what type of questions to be asked,” a top official in the human resource development ministry said.
States now follow different procedures in appointing teachers. While some recruit candidates on the basis of Class XII marks or marks obtained in teacher training programmes, Bengal last year advertised for posts of 58,000 teachers in primary schools with the minimum qualification being Class X.
Under the new rules, only those candidates who have passed Class XII and done a two-year diploma in teachers’ education from a recognised institute will be allowed to take the eligibility test.
The Centre has notified in the official gazette the new norms, which were required under a provision of the Right to Education Act that says no untrained teacher can be recruited. The norms were finalised by the NCTE, a statutory body that regulates teachers’ education in the country.
Under the fresh guidelines, each state will hold the eligibility test every year. Those who clear the test will be eligible to be appointed teachers in elementary schools.
There are about 1.29 million elementary schools in the country. Nearly 5.1 lakh additional teachers will be recruited in these schools in the next three years to meet a pupil-teacher ratio of 30 to 1 under the provisions of the RTE, which came into force in April.
Sources said the TET would ensure better quality of teachers and do away with interference of political parties in appointment of teachers in state government-run schools.
The new norms could create resentment in poll-bound Bengal, which was asked by the HRD ministry last year to amend its rules on recruitment of primary school teachers. The Centre had said the eligibility for recruitment should conform to NCTE regulations.
Source : The Telegraph.
1 comment :
It is a good way to strengthen the primary education.It is not only enough to have entrance test for primary teachers but also inservice training should be given for every two years. Primary Education is very poor in all states. We must give good education in primary level to avoid drop outs in the secondary level. Many students continue their education in secondary level with poor primary education. So they are not able to shine in the higher classes.
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