Context:

This editorial is based on the news “A ruling that gives primary schoolteaching a new slate” which was published in the Hindu. In August 2023, the Supreme Court of India upheld the decision of the Rajasthan High Court in ruling that the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree cannot be considered appropriate for primary school-teaching.

Relevant Degree For Primary School-Teaching

• The Relevant Degree for primary school-teaching is the Diploma in Education (DEd) or Diploma in Elementary Education (DElEd) or Bachelor of Elementary Education (BElEd). 

Rationale of the Supreme Court Judgment 

• Primary Teaching has Different Requirements: Understanding Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), and being able to design and involve all students in a manner that ensures that they grasp these basic and foundational competencies is a very non-trivial task. 
  • Hence, teaching these competencies has to be learnt by prospective primary school teachers, through specialised teacher education for this stage. 
• Statutory Provisions: The Right to Education Act 2009 not only lays emphasis on the need for professional qualification but also the appropriate qualification to teach. 

Need to Do For Primary School-Teaching

• Greater attention will need to be Paid: To increase the supply of good quality DEd/DElEd/BElEd programmes in the country. 
• Inclusivity of the Self-finance Sector: Analysis of Teachers Eligibility Test data from one State shows that quality in this sector is only from the government-funded institutions, while the self-financed sector is doing very poorly.
• Attention on Knowledge: There will have to be more attention in ensuring higher quality and pedagogical content knowledge of candidates. 
  • The Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) may also need to have section-wise qualifying cut-off marks included in addition to an overall qualification cut-off mark, to ensure that primary school teacher competence in mathematics.
• Need for Government Support: There is an urgent need to strengthen government support and innovation in this sector. 
  • Example: Programmes such as BElEd offered by the Delhi University have demonstrated successful curriculum to strengthen knowledge, understanding and practice for this level/stage. 
• Value in Crafting Innovative Programmes: It can provide pathways for B.Ed holders to receive professional development and gain credible certification for primary school-teaching, without having to re-enrol for the entire degree/diploma programme. 
• Short Course: Offering the two-year B.Ed with specialisation for the preparatory/primary level could also be an option to consider, rather than requiring these students to join under graduate programmes.

Actions Taken By the Government For Primary School-Teaching

• Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP): The recently announced ITEP holds out the possibility of extending the successful model of bringing primary school teacher preparation into the university/Higher Education space. 
• Scheme of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers & Teaching: The Union Budget 2023 announcement to continue the Scheme of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers & Teaching (launched in 2014) to strengthen teacher education.
• Strengthen District Institutes of Education and Training or DIETs: A recent Ministry of Education initiative to strengthen DIETs is welcome.

Conclusion

With a full Budget in near future, there is a hope that the government will respond in a comprehensive way to these issues, and provide allocation to strengthen primary/preparatory stage teacher education through greater government support and incentives for innovation in this sector.