primary school teachers the twists and turns of everyday practice

Version 20 Oct 08, edited final
Kerala
Maharashtra
Rajasthan
Lower
primary
Upper
primary
Primary
Primary 10+2
10 + 2 with 55% marks
University degree with 55%
marks
10 + 2 with 45% marks
2 year Teacher Training
Certificate (TTC) with 55%
marks
10 month B.Ed with 55%
marks
2 year D.Ed + 6 month
internship
2 years Senior Teacher
Certificate (STC) training
Tamil Nadu Primary 10 + 2 2 years D.Ed
West Bengal Primary Class 10
(desirable) 1 year TTC, not
mandatory
Academic qualifications
In most states the higher secondary certificate is the minimum entry qualification for
primary school teaching—although statistics show that as many as 20 per cent of the
elementary school teachers in India have not completed 12 years of schooling. Does
completion of the higher secondary certificate ensure that teachers have sufficient
content knowledge of the subjects that they are required to teach? Both research
evidence and anecdotal accounts suggest the contrary. According to a World Bank
(1997) report, for example:
Many primary teachers have not studied such core subjects as mathematics or the
language of instruction beyond grade 8 or 10. (…) One study of primary teachers in
Tamil Nadu found that only 39 per cent of rural and 53 per cent of urban teachers could
correctly answer four of five problems on a short mathematics test. (…) In a study in
Madhya Pradesh, teachers were administered the same tests of reading and mathematics
as were administered to students in the DPEP baseline surveys. About half the teachers
could not answer correctly a mathematics question (…) and could not identify the central
idea in a paragraph that they read. Significant deficits in teachers' knowledge of
mathematics, environmental studies, and Kannada language have also been reported in
Karnataka.
Inadequate content knowledge among teachers often remains invisible at the lower
primary level, since the no-detention policy and the textbook-based transaction of
the curriculum combine to hide teachers’ lack of mastery of content. However,
current education policy in most states reflects the assumption that a higher
secondary school diploma provides sufficient content knowledge for teaching at the
primary level. Among the states included in this study, the entry-level qualification
for a primary school teacher in Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan is
the higher secondary certificate, increased from 10+/11+ to 12+ after the number of
years of schooling was increased across the country with the coming of the 10+2
system. The pass percentage required of students wishing to become teachers tends
to be very low. For example, Maharashtra requires minimum marks of only 45 per
cent.
The educational policy in Kerala, however, reflects a more nuanced concern with
teachers’ subject knowledge. The state requires a relatively high pass percentage (55
per cent) in the Class 12 examination for teacher appointments at the lower primary
level, and not only secondary but also upper primary school teachers must hold a
university degree. At the other end of the spectrum, teacher candidates in West
Bengal are required only to complete Class 10 (matric before the 10+2 system). In the
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