Mandatory course for untrained teachers a non-starter in Kashmir

The process of putting thousands of untrained government school teachers through a mandatory B.Ed course has proved a non starter in the school education department as the authorities failed to start contact classes for them.

In 2017, the department registered around 8000 untrained teachers with IGNOU to pursue a B.Ed course and make them professionally trained after the union ministry of human resource development said no untrained teachers will be allowed to work in the department from April 2019.

   

However, the initiative has remained confined to official files alone, placing these untrained teachers in uncertain circumstances beyond the deadline.

“The department after registering 8000 teachers with IGNOU had empowered DIETs to established study centres for these untrained teachers at each zone. But all the process remained confined to papers,” an official said.

He said the department appointed district coordinators and zonal coordinators for the purpose but failed to conduct the classes for the untrained teachers.

According to the MHRD guidelines the in-service untrained 10th pass and graduate teachers were asked to opt for D.Ed and B.Ed course in order to complete the training process.

The B.Ed and D.Ed courses were specifically designed for in-service untrained teachers aimed at improving quality education. 

The directorate of erstwhile Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) was designated as nodal agency to execute the training process.

“But the unfortunate part is that most of the teachers are yet to receive the study material of their subjects particularly additional subjects opted by these teachers,” the official said.

The teachers who have opted for B.Ed say they have not submitted any assignment since more than a year after they were registered with IGNOU for the course.

“The department has not designated any study centre at zonal level where we can submit our assignments. Basic issue is that the classes have not started so far,” said a teacher from Baramulla district who wished not to be named.  

“It seems that the department wants to award degrees at the end of the year without making these un-trained in-service teachers professionally trained.”

The department is supposed to complete the process by the March 2019 and submit the list of these trained teachers to MHRD.  

“But in last one year the department failed to execute the process on ground,” said another teacher from Kupwara.

Director School Education Kashmir (DSEK) G N Itoo said the programme comes under the purview of Samagra Shiksha.

“We have no role in it,” Itoo said.

State Project Director (SPD) Samagra Shiksha Tufail Ahmad Matoo didn’t respond to repeated calls from this reporter.

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