
What is teaching certification?
admin
- 0
Posted September 24, 2018 08:06:47Teachers and educators are facing a crisis of certification in India and they are in a tough position to get it right.
According to a recent report from the National Institute of Training (NIT), in the first six months of 2019, there were a total of 11,717 teacher certification exam (TCE) results in India.
Of these, around 1,000 were rejected for various reasons including invalidity or falsification of information.
NIT had issued a circular in September 2018 directing the government to ensure that all teachers and educators who have been awarded TCEs are fully credentialed and certified before issuing their certificates.NIT is the official regulator of the teaching profession in India, and this circular has been in place for the last three years.
The TCE system is a mandatory certification that helps in obtaining a teaching degree in India by providing detailed knowledge and skills related to teaching.
However, the government has not been providing sufficient resources for teachers to take up the TCE exam, nor have they been providing adequate training to teachers in the country.
In the latest round of certification, which will be held in the second half of this year, around 6,800 teachers and teachers’ aides will be given TCE certificates.
However the official TCE result is not final, and the final result can be contested in court.
“As per our circular, we have asked the government for a notification that would give a clear guidance to the government on how to provide training and certification in the future.
So we will be following the notification,” NIT secretary Amit Desai told The Hindu.
Niti Aayog has been pushing for TCE certification for many years.
In 2015, the organisation had also launched the National Teacher Certification Examination Programme (NTCEP) for all schools, but the government had rejected the idea for lack of resources.
The government then sought a recommendation from the NIT on how the process could be improved.
The NIT’s latest circular says that, “Teachers’ candidates have to be credentialed by the Niti Aiyog in the process of obtaining certification and are to be fully credentialing before they are issued TCE.”
“If a candidate is not credentialed, they are asked to submit their certificate.
But if the certificate is not valid, they can still be credentialing and the process can be continued for the certification,” Niti said.
However even the TCCE result is still not final and it can be challenged in court, said Desai.
The TCE is the only certificate that is given in India for teacher certification, and it is issued only to teachers who are registered with the Indian Board of Secondary Education (IBSE).
The certificate is valid for one year, but teachers can also get a renewal certificate within three years from the date of the last TCE certificate.NISEY and other organisations have argued that the T CE system needs to be overhauled.
“The government should have set up an education ministry to take the process forward, but instead they are just passing it along to the states and local governments,” said Desay.
The National Association of Secondary Teachers (NASST), which has a national membership, also wants the government and the government agencies to ensure training to teach in India as a priority.
NASST said in a statement, “The T CE exam, which is the single most important step for ensuring a teacher’s qualifications, should be held every year in all the states.”
“The lack of education training for teachers in India is an enormous problem that has been plaguing the profession for decades,” said Pankaj Bhargava, NASST’s secretary.