Opinion Teacher education in India needs much more than a one-size-fits-all formula
Aimed at implementing the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP-2020), the draft regulation needs to be seen in light of the changes, demands, and supply of teachers in the school education sector. According to the latest UDISE (Unified District Information System for Education) 2023-2024 Report, there are 1.1 lakh single-teacher schools out of 14.72 lakh schools in India. According to the Right to Education Act, 2009, a minimum of two teachers per school is mandatory to ensure quality school education.
Undoubtedly, India needs more teachers at the school level. There is also an increase in demand for international curricula. This is reflected in the growing number of International Baccalaureate (IB) and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) schools in recent times. A report in the Financial Express in December 2023 mentioned that between 2019 and 2023, India witnessed a 31 per cent surge in International Baccalaureate schools. Currently, there are 166 IB schools in India, and Cambridge International's website indicates 733 Cambridge curriculum schools to date, and the number is increasing.
There is, therefore, a need for more teachers who can teach not only in CBSE schools but also ICSE, IGCSE, and IB board schools, where the focus is on inquiry-based learning, collaboration, and international mindedness. While many professions will likely be hit by the arrival of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the demand for teachers wouldn't face a slump. The latest report on the Future of Jobs 2025 by the World Economic Forum predicted the largest growth in jobs in the care sector, including teaching professionals.
Do the draft regulations meet the pressing needs of the changing school education landscape in India by bringing back old programmes to produce more teachers in the same timespan? The two programmes will add to the existing repertoire of choices for aspiring teachers and teacher educators who either cannot afford the two-year fee due to a lack of resources or decide to become a teacher later in professional life.
The revival of old teacher education programmes suggests that discontinuing a much sought-after four-year B.El.Ed programme is unwarranted. Instead, the NCTE should widen the scope of the B.El.Ed. programme by encouraging multidisciplinary co-educational institutions to offer it so that male candidates can pursue this course. Every year, many male students inquire about the programme and show willingness to become elementary school teachers. Furthermore, the B.El.Ed programme is in sync with the NEP (2020) and fits well into the 5+3+3+4 structure as they are prepared to cater to the learning needs of early years till the grade eight level.
A fine blend of teacher education and subject expertise, this programme equips participants to understand the nuances of how children learn. The curriculum, grounded in the national ethos, begins with an introduction to the Indian Constitution that serves as a moral compass for every teacher.
New schools mostly start with elementary levels and the B.El.Ed. graduates with their subject expertise and leadership acumen can fulfil the demands of the ever-increasing need for teachers. Hence, the NCTE should revisit its decision and allow multidisciplinary institutions to not only continue with the B.El.Ed. programme but also encourage interested higher education institutions to start it from the 2026-2027 academic session, so that there is no scarcity of well-trained teachers.
With the draft Regulations 2025, the NCTE has taken upon itself the responsibility to develop a curriculum, and all the teacher education programmes will have to adhere to that. They will have the freedom to determine up to 30 per cent of the curriculum to cater to local and institutional requirements. Through this, NCTE's accountability to train effective teachers has increased. Instead of proposing a one-size-fits-all curriculum, the NCTE should encourage teacher education institutions to come up with their own curriculum. After all, the teacher educators are experts in their field and well acquainted with the latest developments and needs of their discipline. The NCTE should continue to dispense its primary role as a Professional Standard Setting Body, a role assigned to it by the NEP-2020.
Moreover, AI is shaping the contemporary world, and teacher education should not be oblivious to it. The draft regulations, though, should be the first to discuss the role of AI in teacher education, but there is no mention of it anywhere in the document. The NCTE must ensure that teachers who come out of the teacher education programmes are equipped with distinct competencies and dispositions needed in the age of AI. A teacher imbued with critical thinking can think for herself, engage with multiple ideas, understand the perspectives of others, weigh the evidence before reaching a conclusion, respectfully communicate her logical disagreement with others, and collaborate with colleagues, students, and AI.
In conclusion, the future teacher must be firmly grounded in the reality that is articulated in the introduction of NEP 2020: 'Providing universal access to quality education is the key to India's continued ascent, and leadership on the global stage in terms of economic growth, social justice and equality, scientific advancement, national integration, and cultural preservation'.
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