New Delhi, September 17 (IANS). Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi has launched a six-month Primary Teacher Education (PTE) Certificate (Bridge) course with the aim of promoting quality education at the primary level.
The objective of this course is to equip teachers with the skills and abilities to provide better education and lifelong learning opportunities to students.
This bridge course was launched on Wednesday and will be conducted through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).
According to officials, this course will help teachers adopt child-centric, inclusive and developmentally tailored teaching methods, thereby strengthening the quality of primary and basic education.
This course is specially designed for working primary school teachers who have a B.Ed degree. This will give them the opportunity to obtain the necessary certification to teach in elementary grades.
Officials said that this is a special professional training program which will help teachers develop the necessary skills and competencies to effectively teach students from classes 1 to 5.
This course has been designed as per the framework of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). This will include at least 10 days of online contact classes and 20 days of school based training along with academic studies.
The objective of the course is to enable teachers to understand the diverse learning needs of young children and teach accordingly. It consists of six theoretical subjects and school-based practical training (Practicum) to provide better coordination between teaching theory and classroom teaching.
According to officials, the Supreme Court, in its decision given on April 8, 2024 in the Devesh Sharma vs. Union of India case, had given NCTE the right to prepare a bridge course for such primary teachers who had been appointed but did not have the qualification of D.El.Ed.
After this, this bridge course was prepared for those working primary teachers, who were appointed between 28 June 2018 to 11 August 2023 to teach in primary classes (Class 1 to 5) on the basis of B.Ed degree.
This course is exclusively for teachers whose appointments are protected under NCTE's notification dated 28 June 2018.
The course will include both theoretical and practical training, focusing on fundamental education principles.
This course will be taught in Hindi and English medium. However, teachers will be able to write answers in the public examination (theory) in any of the 22 languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
The Ministry of Education believes that this initiative will further strengthen the capacity of primary level teachers and will play an important role in promoting quality and inclusive education in the country.
–IANS
AMT/ABM