Students more informed than teachers

Updated on: Tuesday, June 28, 2011

If your children come back complaining that their teacher takes their help to solve problems, they may not be kidding. The state government may not know if teachers in Gujarat have a basic PTC or BEd qualification. But it does know that almost 40 % teachers in the state have studied till higher secondary.

Most of these teachers had entered almost 25 years back when the minimum requirement of becoming a teacher was a 10th class pass and a PTC degree. But unlike other states, there has not been any effort to help these teachers upgrade their skills, degrees or for that matter attain a BEd or a PTC degree. As a result, the number of teachers with lower qualifications started accumulating in later years as there were not many takers for the profession.

The National University of Educational Planning and Administration ( NUEPA) Delhi states that in 2010-11, out of 2.92 lakh teachers, 97,641 teachers have studied till secondary level, 13,574 teachers have below secondary level degrees, 73,525 teachers hold higher secondary degrees and 45,731 graduates. Only 499 teachers have MPhil and PhD degrees, while 1,896 teachers have qualifications which are either not legally recognized by the government or are certificate teacher training courses.

Biju Vadakkan, a teacher in a private charitable school says, "Course modules are becoming more interactive and have multimedia content. Children are exposed to educative channels that are even watched in remote villages. In such circumstance teachers have to upgrade their mode of teaching and their own personal enrichment. Sometimes, children are more informed than us. If teachers still hinge on a secondary or higher secondary degree, there will come a time when students would not require teachers and would depend multi-media assignments alone."

Hasmukh Hingoo, former chairman of Gujarat Higher Secondary and Secondary Education (GSHSEB) says, "Earlier the education department rules had made it mandatory for a teacher to be minimum 12th pass. But to tackle today's children one needs a mature teacher. In subjects like Maths and Science, chapters have been upgraded and a mere higher secondary or a secondary degree will not help. A bachelor's degree is a must for teachers."

Times of India

Students more informed than teachers

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