Posts
 |
| Photo: Usha Albuquerque |
 |
| Photo: The Tribune |
If you love spending time with young people, have heaps of patience and energy, then it can be the best job in the world. It can be financially rewarding and soul-satisfying as well.
With the boom in education in the past few decades, the numbers of kindergarten, elementary middle and senior secondary schools, colleges, vocational institutions, technical institutes, coaching institutes, universities and other institutions of learning have increased significantly offering great employment opportunities to those with the right motivation and interest. More and more government spending in the social sector has also increased the number of teaching jobs, the 6th Pay Commission recommendations have improved the pay scales, and the entry of several private players in the education sector has provided huge incentives to those looking for a career in teaching.
Our education system offers several options for people who would like to be teachers, right from the very basic nursery and pre-primary teaching to college and university, from diploma and certificate courses for school leavers, to BEd, MEd and the NET exam for college lecturers. Broadly they cover pre-service training, i.e preparing fresh teachers for the school system, as well as in-service training to improve the capacity of existing school teachers.
For pre-service training, there are well prescribed regulations laid down by the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE), a statutory body of the Central Government, responsible for planned and coordinated development of teacher education in the country. The NCTE lays down norms and standards for various teacher education courses, minimum qualifications for teacher educators, course and content and duration and minimum qualification for entry of student-teachers for the various courses. It also grants recognition to institutions (government, government-aided and self-financing) interested in undertaking such courses and has in-built mechanism to regulate and monitor their standards and quality.
The educational requirements for the different levels of teaching vary, so for those looking towards a teaching career, here are some of the training programmes that can be considered:
Teaching starts with pre primary/nursery schools:
An elementary teacher makes a lot of difference in the lives of the young learners because a child's pre-school experience is the first experience into the world of education. Therefore, it is essential that teachers get properly trained before they start working as a primary/elementary teacher and provide sufficient learning opportunities that facilitate maximum growth and development.
There are many private and government institutes offering the nursery teacher training programmes (NTT) which enable you to start working at a pre-school. Preference is given to those trained for pre-school education, such as the Montessori or Kindergarten pattern.
A high school pass with a nursery training certificate, diploma or degree is the basic requirement for nursery or primary school teaching. The eligibility requirement for a Primary Teacher in a Government School is Senior Secondary School certificate or Intermediate or its equivalent, and Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.), or Diploma or certificate in basic teachers' training of not less than two years' duration.
Teaching for Primary and Junior schools:
The B El. Ed course is specially structured for training teachers for teaching children from classes I to VIII. For junior schools the eligibility requirement is a graduate or postgraduate degree with 55 per cent marks and a BEd in teaching/education. In addition, the candidate must have studied at least one of the teaching subjects during graduation. To qualify as a TGT (Trained Graduate teacher) in say, English, or science, you need to be a graduate in English or science, with a BEd qualification, which is a one-year degree course which qualifies teachers for secondary and senior secondary classes. The BEd is a full-time course and admission is on the basis of an entrance test followed by an interview.
Selection for a teacher's job in central government schools is based on the Central Teachers Eligibility Test (CTET). The purpose of this exam is to ensure good quality teachers for the government schools. This is why the central government introduced the Central Teachers Eligibility Test and state governments have the Teachers Eligibility Test.
Secondary and senior secondary school teachers:
A post-graduate degree in the subject and a BEd is the basic requirement for teaching students in secondary and senior secondary classes. The basic eligibility requirement for a Post Graduate teacher (PGT) is a Master's degree from a recognized University with at least 50% marks in aggregate in your subject and the BEd qualification again, from a recognised university.
A lecturer or instructor in college needs to have a post-graduate degree with a certificate of eligibility for lectureship, the National Eligibility Test (NET) from the University Grants Commission. The National Eligibility Test (NET), is conducted by the University Grants Commission (UGC), and qualifies you to teach across India. The eligibility for appearing in NET exam is to have a master's degree or its equivalent from a recognised university. For further information check the website: www.ugcnetonline.in.
A PhD. with experience as tutor is also eligible, while a PhD with three years experience as lecturer/assistant professor is the basic requirement for a reader's post. A professor in a university department must be a PhD holder with at least ten years experience in teaching, of which five years must be as assistant professor.
Read more...
Source: The Tribune
Usha Albuquerque
Teaching is undoubtedly a challenging and rewarding career, although for
young school leavers it is often the least sought after. If you love
spending time with young people, have heaps of patience and energy, then
it can be the best job in the world. It can be financially rewarding
and soul-satisfying as well.
With the boom in education in the past few decades, the numbers of
kindergarten, elementary middle and senior secondary schools, colleges,
vocational institutions, technical institutes, coaching institutes,
universities and other institutions of learning have increased
significantly offering great employment opportunities to those with the
right motivation and interest. More and more government spending in the
social sector has also increased the number of teaching jobs, the 6th
Pay Commission recommendations have improved the pay scales, and the
entry of several private players in the education sector has provided
huge incentives to those looking for a career in teaching.
Our education system offers several options for people who would like to
be teachers, right from the very basic nursery and pre-primary teaching
to college and university, from diploma and certificate courses for
school leavers, to BEd, MEd and the NET exam for college lecturers.
Broadly they cover pre-service training, i.e preparing fresh teachers
for the school system, as well as in-service training to improve the
capacity of existing school teachers.
For pre-service training, there are well prescribed regulations laid
down by the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE), a statutory
body of the Central Government, responsible for planned and coordinated
development of teacher education in the country. The NCTE lays down
norms and standards for various teacher education courses, minimum
qualifications for teacher educators, course and content and duration
and minimum qualification for entry of student-teachers for the various
courses. It also grants recognition to institutions (government,
government-aided and self-financing) interested in undertaking such
courses and has in-built mechanism to regulate and monitor their
standards and quality.
