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Version 20 Oct 08, edited finalthe demands of real-life teaching, few questioned it. This situation is seen as‘normal’; the way the system works.Over the last ten years there has been endless debate on pedagogy that is childcentricand activity-based. Yet, the students we met told us that the dominant modewas lectures. Their knowledge was tested mainly through periodic examinations.There was no group work and the teacher trainees had little to do with children orschools—except for a few practice lessons, which were designed in standard formatsfar removed from the reality of the school and not followed up by reflection.Concepts like ‘child-centred learning’, ‘knowledge construction’ or even the mostmisused of all terminologies ‘activity-based learning’ were studied and theirdefinitions sometimes learnt by heart—but beyond that the constructivist pedagogywas never applied, either by their own teachers or in the practice lessons. It was justanother set of facts to be received. The teacher-training curriculum provided fewopportunities to draw linkages between subject knowledge and pedagogy: the twowere distinct compartments.In most teacher-training institutions, government as well as private, students saidthat their first choice of future jobs was in government schools. But teacher educationprogrammes made little effort to address the conditions under which a majority ofthese schools operate—single-teacher and two-teacher schools, mother tongueeducation and the problems faced by children from communities that do not speakthe dominant language.The students themselves did not see the programme as a ‘professional’ course. It wasjust something that would help them get a job.What we heard reinforces the observation made in the National Focus Group onTeacher Education (NCF 2005):It is assumed that repeated ‘practice’ in the ‘teaching of isolated lessons’ (of a required number) isa sufficient condition for professional training to be a teacher. It is also assumed that links betweentheories of child development and learning, instructional models and methods of teaching specificsubjects are automatically formed in the understanding developed by teacher-trainees (studentteachers). Both national and international experience challenges these contentions. Teachereducation programmes must therefore make a conscious effort to design courses to provide greater‘space’ to generate a deeper understanding of such linkages.Why choose to be a teacher?Discussions with teachers and existing research suggest that teachers do not, by andlarge, enter the profession because of their love of teaching or of children. Rather,appointment to a teaching post is seen as a relatively easy opportunity to gain securelifetime employment as a government servant. Given the low entry qualificationsrequired of elementary school teachers and the relatively high demand for teachers,the option of teaching at the elementary level is accessible to students whose schoolleaving marks fail to qualify them to study to become doctors and engineers, yet whoseek to obtain relatively comfortable working conditions in terms of salary, benefits,and job security. As the PROBE report (1999) summarises, ‘Few teachers see their workas a vocation. In rural areas, teaching posts tend to be seen as plum jobs, with good salaries,secure employment and plenty of time for other activities. Anyone with the required formalqualifications may be tempted to apply, including persons who have no intrinsic attraction tothe job, no sympathy for children, or no commitment to the spread of education.’38
Version 20 Oct 08, edited finalOverall, it seems apparent that entry into the teaching profession at the elementarylevel is ‘…more of a “safe fall-back option” than a formal career choice. This bitter reality israrely confronted in educational research and public documents that seek to eulogise thedramatic steps that India is taking to universalise elementary education’ (Batra 2005).Box 4.1: Why did I become a teacher? Some responses from RajasthanI do not know how I became a teacher! I kept studying with my friends and colleagues (…) I kept doingwhat they were doing and now I am standing before you… Rural woman teacherI can shoulder my household responsibilities along with this job. Urban woman teacherLack of employment opportunities—I was trying to apply for other jobs and also for the job of a teacher,but since I did not get a job elsewhere I had to take up this job. This job came to me by chance—Iwanted to become an administrative officer. Rural male teacherBecause of poverty and family pressure, I had to begin work at an early age—this job was offered to meand came easily—I was only somewhat interested and wanted to be near my family so that I could helpthem financially and emotionally. Rural contract teacherI did not want to work but after I got married my husband was posted in a remote place where I did nothave much to do. So I applied for the job. I did a Bachelor in Education (B.Ed) and my marks weregood. I had good contacts as my father was well connected. So I came to this job by just luck. But now Iam enjoying it as the salary is good, I can buy things for myself and for the house. I have a lot of timeon my hands and also it is non-transferable. For women it is the best profession as there is balancebetween family and job, not much tension from HM and good understanding with my colleagues.Rural female teacherI was selected for the patwari’s job. During training I was told by the trainer that society always sees apatwari as a corrupt person even though he may be honest. I did not want to tarnish my image so I leftthe patwari training half way. Those days a teacher was seen with great respect in the community so Ichanged my profession. Rural male teacherI wanted to work with children—teach them about Indian culture and history, so that when they growup they develop a love for their country—give them a strong disciplined environment, motivate them,develop qualities like respect, determination, curiosity, self-reliance. Urban male teacher(Source: Vimala Ramachandran field notes, Rajasthan 2003-04).Who is eligible to become a teacher?Country-wide, the eligibility criteria that govern who can be appointed as anelementary school teacher are related to formal credentials rather than to interest inor aptitude for the profession. While all states are broadly governed by NationalCouncil for Teacher Education (NCTE) norms, there are significant differencesamong them, both in terms of academic requirements (number of years of schooling)and pre-service teacher-training. These eligibility criteria, given in Table 4.1, apply toappointments to regular teaching posts; appointment as a contract (also called para)teacher requires greatly reduced qualifications in most states.Table 4.1: Eligibility criteria for appointment as a school teacherState Level of post Academic requirement Pre-service trainingrequirement39
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