DRAFT TEACHER TRAINING RULES: HOW THE THRUST ON SPECIALISATION CAN BE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE?

Quality teachers are essential for India's education system, but proposed NCTE regulations may hinder recruitment and deployment.

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Teachers are the cornerstone of any robust education system. They are critical to delivering quality education and fulfilling the promise of the Right to Education for every child in India. Almost all of us can recall that one teacher who profoundly shaped our lives. A stronger, more equitable India can only be built on the shoulders of professionally trained, quality teachers.

As the nation with the largest child population in the world, India's need for well-trained teachers is immense. We cannot hope to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of "Quality Education for All" without addressing this foundational need.

Government data from UDISE suggests that 90% of India's 9.5 million-strong teaching workforce in schools hold some form of professional qualification. However, ground realities tell a different story.

A 2024 report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), titled "The Right Teacher for Every Child", dives deeper using both UDISE data and extensive field studies. It reveals that around 46% of primary school teachers hold the DElEd or BEIEd qualification.

The gaps extend further - over 50% of mathematics teachers hadn't studied mathematics at the undergraduate level. Physical education and art are also ne-glected only 53% of private and 30% of government schools had full-time PE teachers, while full-time art teachers were present in just 40% of private and 19% of government schools.

Teacher shortages remain widespread with 62% of government schools reporting vacancies. The burden is even greater in rural areas, which host 70% of the teach-ing workforce and face more single-teach-er schools, higher pupil-teacher ratios, and greater shortages.