primary school teachers the twists and turns of everyday practice

Version 20 Oct 08, edited final
for teachers in different areas; the Panchayati Raj bodies pay resource persons and
also bear the travel costs of teachers.
Administrators and teachers in Kerala felt that there is increasing recognition of the
need to focus on the environment in which the teacher works, especially given that
the nature of this environment clearly transmits what the education system ‘expects’
of her. A similar change has been reported in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh where
growing social pressure for good quality education has initiated serious thinking
about the factors that enable teachers to work to their full potential. It is too early to
tell whether these changes will be allowed to flourish and deepen to the point where
their effects will be visible in improved learning outcomes among students.
Box 2.3: Teachers on the run!
Jaipur, 30 June 2008: Thousands of teachers transferred! On Monday the government brought
out a list of 15,000 transfers of teachers in all the districts. Of this some 10,000 are primary
schoolteachers and 5000 are middle school teachers (…) After the cessation of transfer during
the last academic year, the government offices were fairly peaceful. But now teachers are
making a beeline to the secretariat to meet ministers and legislators to either get the transfer
revoked or to lobby for a better post (Rajasthan Patrika, Jaipur).
Bikaner, 2 July 2008: Many schools empty due to teacher transfers: Since the government
transferred thousands of teachers—many schools in Bikaner are empty. There are no
teachers. The Directorate has now asked for names of schools without teachers so that
“vidhyathri mitra” can be appointed (…) Interestingly the name of a deceased teacher from
Bharatpur figures in the list of teachers transferred (Dainik Bhaskar, Jaipur).
Malappuram, 19 July 2008: A primary school teacher died on Saturday after being beaten up,
allegedly by a group of protestors from the pro-IUML Youth League who were taking part in
an agitation demanding withdrawal of a controversial seventh standard social science
textbook (…) The protestors also disrupted the meeting which was convened to share the
academic experiences of teachers in the nearby schools, police said (…) The youth and
student outfits of the Congress-led UDF have been on warpath for the last three weeks
demanding that the LDF Government withdraw the textbook which, they alleged, contained
portions meant to propagate atheism (Press Trust of India, Thiruvananthapuram).
Nandigram, 19 November 2007: Thirteen primary school teachers have sought transfer out of
Nandigram (…) About 50 teachers had fled their homes during the last round of violence and
taken shelter in relief camps and relatives’ houses. “We have received a joint letter from 13
teachers seeking transfer. They have been asked to apply individually,” East Midnapore
Primary School Council chairman Narayan Chandra Mondal said (…) Sahadeb Gayen, whose
house had been ‘ransacked and looted by CPM cadres’, had tried to go to Maheshpur
Primary School on Wednesday. “But the CPM cadres did not let me enter and forced me to
take part in one of their processions. I managed to escape back to the camp,” said Sahadeb,
who has taken refuge in Nandigram High School with his wife and three sons (The Telegraph,
Kolkata).
How formal monitoring and supervision systems affect teachers’ practice
It is said that we learn what we are tested on and we do what is monitored. This is the case
with teachers too. If we look back over the last 20 years –since the National Policy
on Education 1986– GoI has produced an impressive array of data. DISE was
developed during DPEP to enable the government to track educational progress.
What does DISE capture and how is this information collected?
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