From- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Passing-out-or-passing-through/articleshow/16595657.cms
While theory and practice are two different worlds in every profession, the difference is stark when it comes to teaching.
In the entire 'life cycle' of a teacher, the syllabi is sort of a sacrosanct document within the realm of which all activities have to be planned. First as students, then graduates, then trainees and finally as teachers, the maximum limit for everything the educators do is defined by the syllabi.
Even though new teachers are confronted with a different scenario in the real world, the syllabi restricts how much they can innovate to overcome the hurdles.
A CBSE school principal, said, "The current teacher training system has developed as a delivery mechanism where the product, which is the syllabi in this case, has to be delivered within a specified time. Teachers have been trained like robots who are not thinking out of the box. During our interview sessions these fresh graduates were given a school essay and we asked them to frame five questions. Everyone came up with typical rote questions which could be answered verbatim by students. I was expecting them to use some innovative thinking and come up with questions that require students to first comprehend the content and then answer."
Other principals too shared similar experiences which revealed that abysmally low quality of teachers are passing out from training colleges. While there are always exceptions to the rule, even training colleges agreed that majority of the trainee teachers were below par.
Principal of a Teacher Education Institute (TEI), said, "We cannot make our trainee teachers turn into brilliant candidates within a year. We have to work with whatever quality of students we get. Most of them join this course only because it is a mandatory requirement to get job in schools. There are some institutes in the city that allow students to remain absent and just appear from some practical test and the final exam, so what quality can you expect?"
While passing the buck and blame-game continues, the fact is that when trainee teachers pass out they are in for a rude shock. Jennifer Michael (name changed), joined a popular CBSE school last year and was in for a shock. "I completed my Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) from Nagpur University and my first month at school was nothing that I had expected. I felt as if I had to do so much work with half the time limit practically possible. Completing the course is just one part of teaching, we have do a lot of paperwork and there are extra curricular activities to organize. These are things that we are not taught at TEI and I now realize how little I have learnt there," she said.
A senior teacher, said, "Teaching is an art and no one can teach someone this. This art means not only transferring knowledge to students but also managing time and optimizing your work schedule. Things get better with experience but you need to have it in you, to at least get a head start. I have been teaching for two decades and am considered as a good teacher but I wasn't a brilliant student.
So academic performance in school or during B. Ed does not guarantee a great teacher at all, you need passion for this job which I think is lacking in today's trainees." She adds that for most new teachers, this field is just another source of income and never really a career choice.
So when a cosy job, extra income and easy work environment become the reasons for choosing a career it is no wonder that the victim will be quality of education. Good teachers are, and will always, be there but they seem to be too far and few in between. With majority of private schools paying pitiful salaries it is not wonder that teaching is the 'last refuge' when it comes to career choices.
Teacher salaries in pvt sector keep falling
Private schools in the city are paying as low as Rs3,000 per month to teachers with a Diploma in Teacher Education (D. TEd). The ones with a bachelor's degree are not well off either with salaries barely crossing the Rs8,000 mark. In Nagpur there only two private CBSE schools that pay all their teachers sixth pay commission level salaries. With little incentive from rest of the schools and limited scope in government schools, it is not surprising that teaching does not attract quality recruits in the numbers that are required.
Female dominated field, which makes for good second income
School teaching profession is virtually ruled by the fairer sex. Many attribute it to the fact that teaching is just an extra income for the family. Urvashi Yashroy, director of Tuli Group of Educational Institutes, agrees that females do form the bulk of trainees. "I would say that in most of the TEI, including ours, around 90% are females. Almost every family nowadays depends on double income and teaching is seen as a rather comfortable job for females. Also if their children study in the same school then management gives almost 50% discount on fee, which is again a saving," said Yashroy.
Neelima Rathore (name changed) teaches in a private state-board school and agrees that teaching is a 'cosy' job. "Hours are never erratic and we get all holidays. Does not entail any travel or transfer risks, at least in private schools, not very result-oriented and lot of respect too in the job," she said.
Falling revenue for colleges
With the enrolment at colleges falling steadily, TEIs have little or no monetary incentive to improve infrastructure or hire quality teacher educators. A TEI management member told TOI that the average intake for a college is around 60. "Most of us are barely filling 40 seats, the fee for which ranges from Rs35,000-Rs45,000 a year. Expenses of salaries, utilities and maintenance are always over the Rs20 lakh figure every year. Put this up against the average annual income of Rs16 lakh and we are losing money. The only way most of us are surviving is because we have an integrated system, wherein our other educational institutes provide us the cash flow," he said.
What this means is that latest teaching technology like digital teaching aids and interactive media tools cannot be purchased and quality teacher educators can't be hired. Another TEI principal argues that there is no scope for any technological aid to be used for teaching, since the syllabi is not in sync. "The masters of education (M. Ed) syllabi is ancient and even the bachelor of education (B. Ed) course needs a revamp. Even if I put up a digital board costing over a lakh how shall I connect it with the syllabi currently being used? Agreed doing so will help the trainee teachers in future, but then I will be short of time to complete rest of the course if I start teaching them the digital part," she said.
While theory and practice are two different worlds in every profession, the difference is stark when it comes to teaching.
In the entire 'life cycle' of a teacher, the syllabi is sort of a sacrosanct document within the realm of which all activities have to be planned. First as students, then graduates, then trainees and finally as teachers, the maximum limit for everything the educators do is defined by the syllabi.
Even though new teachers are confronted with a different scenario in the real world, the syllabi restricts how much they can innovate to overcome the hurdles.
A CBSE school principal, said, "The current teacher training system has developed as a delivery mechanism where the product, which is the syllabi in this case, has to be delivered within a specified time. Teachers have been trained like robots who are not thinking out of the box. During our interview sessions these fresh graduates were given a school essay and we asked them to frame five questions. Everyone came up with typical rote questions which could be answered verbatim by students. I was expecting them to use some innovative thinking and come up with questions that require students to first comprehend the content and then answer."
Other principals too shared similar experiences which revealed that abysmally low quality of teachers are passing out from training colleges. While there are always exceptions to the rule, even training colleges agreed that majority of the trainee teachers were below par.
Principal of a Teacher Education Institute (TEI), said, "We cannot make our trainee teachers turn into brilliant candidates within a year. We have to work with whatever quality of students we get. Most of them join this course only because it is a mandatory requirement to get job in schools. There are some institutes in the city that allow students to remain absent and just appear from some practical test and the final exam, so what quality can you expect?"
While passing the buck and blame-game continues, the fact is that when trainee teachers pass out they are in for a rude shock. Jennifer Michael (name changed), joined a popular CBSE school last year and was in for a shock. "I completed my Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) from Nagpur University and my first month at school was nothing that I had expected. I felt as if I had to do so much work with half the time limit practically possible. Completing the course is just one part of teaching, we have do a lot of paperwork and there are extra curricular activities to organize. These are things that we are not taught at TEI and I now realize how little I have learnt there," she said.
A senior teacher, said, "Teaching is an art and no one can teach someone this. This art means not only transferring knowledge to students but also managing time and optimizing your work schedule. Things get better with experience but you need to have it in you, to at least get a head start. I have been teaching for two decades and am considered as a good teacher but I wasn't a brilliant student.
So academic performance in school or during B. Ed does not guarantee a great teacher at all, you need passion for this job which I think is lacking in today's trainees." She adds that for most new teachers, this field is just another source of income and never really a career choice.
So when a cosy job, extra income and easy work environment become the reasons for choosing a career it is no wonder that the victim will be quality of education. Good teachers are, and will always, be there but they seem to be too far and few in between. With majority of private schools paying pitiful salaries it is not wonder that teaching is the 'last refuge' when it comes to career choices.
Teacher salaries in pvt sector keep falling
Private schools in the city are paying as low as Rs3,000 per month to teachers with a Diploma in Teacher Education (D. TEd). The ones with a bachelor's degree are not well off either with salaries barely crossing the Rs8,000 mark. In Nagpur there only two private CBSE schools that pay all their teachers sixth pay commission level salaries. With little incentive from rest of the schools and limited scope in government schools, it is not surprising that teaching does not attract quality recruits in the numbers that are required.
Female dominated field, which makes for good second income
School teaching profession is virtually ruled by the fairer sex. Many attribute it to the fact that teaching is just an extra income for the family. Urvashi Yashroy, director of Tuli Group of Educational Institutes, agrees that females do form the bulk of trainees. "I would say that in most of the TEI, including ours, around 90% are females. Almost every family nowadays depends on double income and teaching is seen as a rather comfortable job for females. Also if their children study in the same school then management gives almost 50% discount on fee, which is again a saving," said Yashroy.
Neelima Rathore (name changed) teaches in a private state-board school and agrees that teaching is a 'cosy' job. "Hours are never erratic and we get all holidays. Does not entail any travel or transfer risks, at least in private schools, not very result-oriented and lot of respect too in the job," she said.
Falling revenue for colleges
With the enrolment at colleges falling steadily, TEIs have little or no monetary incentive to improve infrastructure or hire quality teacher educators. A TEI management member told TOI that the average intake for a college is around 60. "Most of us are barely filling 40 seats, the fee for which ranges from Rs35,000-Rs45,000 a year. Expenses of salaries, utilities and maintenance are always over the Rs20 lakh figure every year. Put this up against the average annual income of Rs16 lakh and we are losing money. The only way most of us are surviving is because we have an integrated system, wherein our other educational institutes provide us the cash flow," he said.
What this means is that latest teaching technology like digital teaching aids and interactive media tools cannot be purchased and quality teacher educators can't be hired. Another TEI principal argues that there is no scope for any technological aid to be used for teaching, since the syllabi is not in sync. "The masters of education (M. Ed) syllabi is ancient and even the bachelor of education (B. Ed) course needs a revamp. Even if I put up a digital board costing over a lakh how shall I connect it with the syllabi currently being used? Agreed doing so will help the trainee teachers in future, but then I will be short of time to complete rest of the course if I start teaching them the digital part," she said.
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