Dr Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for HRD today emphasized the need for quality teaching across all levels of education. He was addressing the Third and Plenary Meeting of the CABE Committee on National Mission on Teachers and Teaching in the Capital today.
While speaking at the Meeting he highlighted the issues in the teacher education sector that needed to be addressed like availability of teachers; quality deficit in teaching, challenges; and issues of contract teachers. The Minister also spoke on inadequate representation of socially disadvantaged categories in teaching profession; teacher absenteeism; teacher accountability; and poor quality teacher training institutions.
The Draft Report to look into different issues in the teacher education sector was presented by the Vice Chancellor of National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA). The scope of the report was (a) managing demand and supply of qualified teachers and attracting talented youth to teaching profession; (b) continuing professional development of teachers; (c) attracting and retaining teachers from SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and differently-abled; and (d) improving quality of teacher education and use of ICT in schools and higher education.
The meeting was attended among others by Education Ministers of U.P, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The other participants were Vice-Chancellors of universities, senior academicians and educationists, Heads of Autonomous Institutions and Regulatory Bodies, representatives from teacher education institutions, universities and colleges also senior officials from the Government of India and State Governments.