primary school teachers the twists and turns of ... - ERU Consultants

Version 20 Oct 08, edited finalIVBefore she became a teacher…Malati remembers few details of her teacher-training diploma programme, eventhough she studied at one of the best teacher-training institutions in her state—agovernment aided institution, where competition for admission was intense. Shehad to stay in the hostel because the institution was located in another city. Sheremembers enjoying the course although she had to work very hard. She can reel offthe subjects she studied such as educational psychology and the history of theeducation system in India. But she remembers little of the content: once theexaminations were over, she says laughingly, she forgot.She remembers making many lesson plans. These had to be very carefully prepared,with good handwriting using different coloured pens. Five steps had to be followedin making them and the neatest and cleanest lesson plans would be proudly shownto visitors to the college. She also remembers the ICT (information andcommunications technology) class, in which they were supposed to learn how to usecomputers. But in her batch there were 40 students—and the institution had onlyfive computers (more than most institutions, she proudly tells us). Plus often therewas no electricity.Malati has not made a lesson plan since the first week after she started teaching, shetells us. We ask her if her training helped her become a better teacher? She shrugsher shoulders and looks almost embarrassed. The problem, she says, is that in theDiploma on Education (D.Ed) they only teach theory. Real schools are not like that.Here one can’t teach properly. The conditions are very bad. And many of thesechildren aren’t interested in learning. They don’t even come to school every day. Itry my best. But what can one do…?Malati’s experience in a teacher-training programme is far from typical—it isincomparably better than what most teacher trainees go through. Her teachers werededicated, they prepared their classes, made students study and do assignments.Classes were almost always held. The institution’s facilities were reasonably good.The institution was proud of its examination results and worked hard to maintain itshigh standards and reputation, with the result that as the Principal of the institutiontold us only the ‘cream’ of each year’s batch of applicants got admission.A central problem, of course, is that teacher-training institutions are judged byexamination results. Both current students and government officials thought veryhighly of the institution that Malati attended—it was a ‘serious’ institution and ahighly respected one. What happens to those who pass out and become teachers iscompletely irrelevant. The disconnect between certification and subsequent practiceis absolute: one is ‘theory’ (needed to pass examinations), the other is work in thereal world.During the course of our fieldwork we went to a number of private and governmentteacher-training institutions. We met students who had chosen teacher-training bydefault and young women who were permitted by their families to enrol becausetheir parents believed that they could juggle both home and work. We talked toteacher trainers and those in government responsible for teacher-training. Thetragedy is that although working teachers and educational administratorseverywhere readily acknowledged this disconnect between teacher certification and37