NCTE plans to regulate teaching in Kindergarten

Chennai:

Now teachers in the kindergarten would be evaluated and monitored as National Council for Teachers Education is working out a mechanism to regulate Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).

Chairman of NCTE Professor Santosh Panda, who was here to participate in the three-day National conference on ‘Building Innovations for Creative Society and generating Employability- Beyond digital Age organized by Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University, told Express that NCTE is planning regulations for ECCE as the kindergarten schools and aanganwadis are not monitored.

“We need to train and regulate the teachers in kindergarten,” he said.

“The early childhood care and program aims at improving the quality of teachers teaching at school levels. Now a day’s both children and teachers have resorted to mugging up the entire syllabus and vomiting it in the exams to score marks. This will help nobody. The teachers have become so used to this method that they fail to realize that education is not confined to books alone.”

Interestingly, Panda’s focus is not only on kindergarten, he also plans to bring in regulations governing teachers training institutes. “This would be in place by June and new applications would be given in July,” he said.

He vows the new regulations would bring in quality in teachers education which is currently lacking. Panda also says NCTE will also make B. Ed and M.Ed a two year duration course. It is currently a one year course.

He also said that a Memorandum of understanding has been signed with National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to create National Center for Accreditation of Teacher Education Institutions.  

“We are also in negoatiation with University Grants Commission for a refresher programme for teacher educators,” he said.

He said there are plans for national Teacher Education Quality Framework and introduce teacher audit system with the help of various stakeholders including state and UGC.

He also said NCTE is also helping develop a transparent legal database to cut down on litigations.