Nurturing Teachers

Why in news?

Teacher’s Day is celebrated on September 5 (birthday of former President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan) to appreciate teachers’ selfless efforts, dedication and commitment to shaping the future of society.

What is NEP 2020?

National Education Policy is a comprehensive framework to guide the development of education in the country.

• NEP 2020- It envisaged a plan to
  • Restructure the recruitment and induction of teachers into schools, their continuous development,
  • Career management and progression, and
  • The environment and culture of schools.

• Efficient HRM practices- NEP 2020 also spelt out the strategy to initiate efficient HRM (Human Resource Management) practices.
• It is introduced to motivate and energise capable faculty in higher education institutions.
• Role of teachers- The teacher must be at the centre of the fundamental reforms in the education system.
• Empower teachers- The new education policy must help re-establish teachers, at all levels, as the most respected and essential members of our society, because they truly shape our next generation of citizens
• Strengthen TET- Teacher Eligibility Tests (TETs) will be strengthened to inculcate better test material, both in terms of content and pedagogy.
• Continuous Professional Development- Teachers will be given continuous opportunities for self-improvement and to learn the latest innovations and advances in their professions.
• Professional standard for teachers- A common guiding set of National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) will be developed by 2022, by the National Council for Teacher Education.
• National Mission for Mentoring- It shall be established, with a large pool of outstanding senior/retired faculty including those with the ability to teach in Indian languages.
• Autonomy- They will be given more autonomy in choosing aspects of pedagogy, so that they may teach in the manner they find most effective for the students in their classrooms.
• Special educators- There is an urgent need for additional special educators for certain areas of school education.
• Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs)- Stringent action will be taken against substandard stand-alone TEIs running in the country, including shutting them down, if required.
• New curriculum- By 2021, a new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, NCFTE 2021 will be formulated by the National Council Teachers Education in consultation with NCERT, based on the principles of NEP 2020.
• Career Management and progression- A robust merit-based structure of tenure, promotion, and salary structure will be developed, with multiple levels within each teacher stage,that incentivizes and recognizes outstanding teachers.

What are the issues that need to be addressed?

• Strengthen HRM Education- Human Resource Management (HRM) which is in nascent stage in India need to be fostered.

• Research and development- It is crucial to inculcate research curiosity among young talents at the school and college levels.
• Institutional support- Institutions provide their best support for good ideas and innovative research, particularly those solving national and global problems.
• Funding- There is a need to ensure smooth funding grant processes and to speed up the procurement process to meet the research project deadlines.
• Promising collaboration- Academics must promote a promising research agenda for collaborating with government, industry, startups, and investor partnerships.
• Industry-Academia nexus- The industry should value PhD and contribute to the research agenda of education institutions.
• Academia must reciprocate by fulfilling the industry’s research demands.
• Technology support- The infrastructure support should be upgraded with state-of-the-art technological infrastructure and the Industry 4.0 framework in today’s digital world.
• Reduce admin burden- A teacher’s primary responsibility is to deliver knowledge, mentor students, and do research.
• However, teachers are often burdened with unnecessary administrative tasks, especially in schools.
• Clear job description- The non-teaching staff should perform routine jobs while teaching and professional staff should perform only unavoidable administrative tasks, such as accreditation ranking framework duties.
• Proper incentives - Reports have identified severe problems with the working conditions and the compensation paid to ad-hoc teachers.
• It is essential to retain talents and keep them motivated with appropriate salary and other incentives at par with the regular employees.
• Focused training programmes- Rigorous, intensive and regular training programmes should be imparted to teachers to equip them with the knowledge, tools and skills necessary to deal with students.
• Teachers should also receive training in learner-centric pedagogy and the latest technology.
• Leadership programmes - It is crucial for grooming principals, academic administrators and vice-chancellors.

What lies ahead?

• Professionalization, modernisation and digitisation are vital to educational institutions.
• Prioritising the NEP 2020 recommendations and appointing skilled and trained professionals will ease many challenges teachers face.

References

1. Business Line- Nurturing teachers
2. NEP 2020- About the policy