TEACHER EDUCATION IN NAGALAND
Buno Liegise
INTRODUCTION
Nagaland
is the 16th state of the Indian Union
measuring a total of 16,579 sq km. It is home to 16 major tribes, in 11
districts. In 2001 census, it had a total population of 19,88,636
with a population density of 120 per sq km. The state is still predominantly
rural, 82.26% of the population living in as many as 1278 villages. Naturally,
agriculture is the chief economic activity. The history of formal education in
Nagaland may be traced back to the arrival of the American missionaries to the
then
GENESIS
OF TEACHER
EDUCATION
The
Nagaland College of Teacher Education was established in 1975, by the State
Government, in Kohima. This was the first such
institution. After twenty years, in 1995,
TYPES
OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN NAGALAND
As
mentioned above, the number and types of teacher education have risen in recent
times with the rise in number of three more DIETs.
However, as we all know, sheer numbers do not ensure quality. It may be noted
that there is still no Master of Education (M.Ed.) course in the State. Two of
the institutes have women principals. It was found that the Government
institute had the most number of teacher educators with B.Ed and Ph.D
qualifications as compared to the other two privately managed institutes. While
there was uniformity of salary for the teacher educators at the starting point,
there was better incentive in the Government Institute. The two private
institutes also had part-time teachers who were, naturally, paid less. In case
of Govt. institution ,majority belong to inservice category and in case of private institutions,
majority belong to fresh category. The number of B.Ed trainees in all three
Institutes ranges from 76 to 100 student trainees in a class. While the most of
student trainees in Government Institute were in-service local people, majority
of the student trainees from the other two Private Institutes were fresh
candidates from outside the state. Of the three institutes in the State, the
Government institute provides hostel facilities to girls only. Of the two
private institutes, one has a hostel for boys while the other provides
residential facilities to both girls and boys. All the institutes, happily,
have library and laboratory facilities even if access to
computer and Internet facilities are limited. Some of the institutes
were understaffed with only five teacher educators each, while one institute had as many as
twenty-five teacher educators. It may be noted that these were newly opened
Government institutes. There is scope for improving the staffing pattern in the
DIETs. Perhaps
exposure to additional orientation and motivational programmes would add an
element of purpose and mission to the teaching profession. Total number of
enrolment for the in-service / pre-service teacher education is 349 in the
first year in eight institutions and 110 in the second year in the four institution. It may be noted that three new Government DIETs were established in the year 2006 and one private
college introduced the course only recently.
IGNOU B.Ed course Contact Centre is
located at the Nagaland College of Teacher Education, Kohima
and the Centres for the CPE course are located at
the District Institutes of Education and Training at Chiechama,
Mokokchung and Tuensang as
well as the privately run St. Paul Institute of Education, Phesama.The
annual number of applicants for the IGNOU teacher education course is gradually
growing in recent years. Learning via mass media, both electronics and print,
without daily interaction with faculty is still an arrangement many have not
got accustomed to. The fact that many probable aspirants are not computer/
Internet savvy is a barrier. Inadequate Internet and television connectivity
particularly in the remote regions of the state acts as a ‘deterrent’. However,
IGNOU Regional Center Kohima has already achieved
impressive results despite the bottlenecks that distance education is
confronted within the state. The IGNOU instructional materials and learning packages are much
sought after by the student trainees of the conventional system and its own
students. The practical aspects of the programmes also need serious attention
as much depend on the hands on experience to become effective in teaching. The
limited face-to face interaction between the academic councilors and the
student trainees and among the student trainees themselves deprives them of the
rich experiences their counter-parts in the conventional institutions
enjoy.
The
State Council for Educational Research and Training besides managing the
teacher education conducted at the DIETs, also organises short and medium
term courses and trainings from time to time. The
TEACHER
TRAINING CURRICULA
The
B.Ed course provided at the Nagaland College of Teacher Education was recently reviewed on the basis of
the model provided by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The new course of
study included four core papers, which are compulsory, two optional papers
(method papers) and one elective subject (special paper). Evaluation scheme for
the theory is 75% external and 25% internal. The total marks for the theory
papers are 700. Practical work consist of field-based experiences including
practice in teaching (micro and macro), peer observation, community work; work
experience (food preservation, campus beautification, painting/art,
knitting/embroidery, envelop making, toy making, paper cutting, candle making,
cookery skill, decoration items etc.) and co-curricular activities (physical,
health education). Scheme of evaluation for practical is :
Field -based Experience -300 Marks (External 62.5% & Internal 37.5%); and
Co-curricular Activities & Work Experience -100 Marks (External 50% & Internal 50%).Total Marks of
the B.Ed course is 1,100 marks.
The
course structure of Pre-service /In-service Teacher Education conducted at the
various institutes for primary school teacher preparation included (a)
foundation course (b) content and methodology (c) practicum & field work -
internship: micro and block teaching. Report writing of one project work is
also included. Evaluation is done on the basis of essay type questions, short
answer questions, very short questions and objective type of questions. A
scheme of 75% external and 25% internal is followed.
The
programme structure for IGNOU B.Ed. Course consists of core courses (20
credits), content-based methodology courses (8 credits), special courses (4
credits), practical courses (16 credits). IGNOU CPE
course structure consists of four theory papers with 10 credits - teaching
language, teaching of mathematics, teaching of environmental studies and
understanding the primary school child. The practical component has 8 credits,
which covers school-based activities, workshop based activities and practice
teaching. The main aim of the programme is to cover the backlog of a large
number of untrained teachers working in primary/elementary schools in the
North- Eastern States and
SUGGESTIONS
FOR IMPROVEMENT
Most
of the institutes/colleges have libraries and laboratories except in the newly
established institutes. Keeping in mind the rapidly changing world, teacher
education institutes also need to upgrade its facilities -
introduce new and innovative methods and materials - to
meet the aspirations of the people and demands of the evolving society. The
strategy to improve the quality of teacher education in the state may take into
account the need to stop political interference in the recruitment of both
teacher educators and trainees, particularly in the Government institutions.
Some suggestions for improvement of teacher education in the state are given
below:
1.
There is advance preparation with head of schools for conducting the practice teaching. However, the half-hearted
support given by some of the schools leaves much to be desired. It may be required for the Directorate of
School Education, the State Council for Educational Research and Training and
the Nagaland Board of School Education to address this perennial problem. A
directive from higher authority almost always has weightage.
Rotation of schools for practice teaching may
prove to be a viable option.
2.
Practical work comprising of field-based experience, peer observation,
community work and work experience should be monitored and supervised
stringently by the teacher educator in-charge. The importance of timely and
accurate evaluation and feedback cannot be emphasised
enough. Criteria for evaluation should be defined clearly and communicated. The
duration of internship may be utilised creatively. It
is no longer unusual for a teacher to do administrative work, handle student’s
queries and problems with the ease of a trained counsellor.
Talented multifaceted teachers are the flavour of the
times and teacher education institutions too should encourage student trainees
to gain cross-functional expertise beyond theoretical knowledge of subject matter.
3.
Professional ethics should be promoted during the entire period of teacher
education and training. Teacher trainees may be evaluated and records
maintained in terms of grades on certain definable aspects of personality such
as sincerity, punctuality, regularity, cooperation and participation. A special
pledge-taking programme may be organised as the
training period comes to a close in order to inculcate professional code of
conduct. Playing truant, irregularity, proxy teaching and lack of discipline
and dedication in work are contributing to erosion of academic quality and
values.
4.
The culture element seems to be largely absent in the education system. One way
around this problem would be to prepare teacher trainees to make use of indigenous
material and device ways and means to promote culture through the instructional
aids they formulate and construct.
5.
Bulky syllabi, particularly of the B.Ed. course, adversely affect the quality
of teaching and performance.Learning becomes a
psychological stress instead of being a joyful experience. Currently,
institutions are able to cover the course within the given period of one year
but with difficulty. The B.Ed.course may be extended
to one and half years if not two years.
6.
Hostels for student trainees and residential quarters for teacher educators are
essential as transport and communication means remain
deplorable particularly in the districts of Mon, Tuensang,
and Phek to cite a few.
7.
Teacher education institutions should not merely become teaching/training shops
but should kindle interest among their faculty members for research and
innovation. Institutions should provide scope for serious research projects.
For example, one study that is long over due is to examine the effectiveness of
teacher education in the state. Further, teacher educators may be motivated to
undertake Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) studies to better meet with future
challenges.
They
should be encouraged to attend refresher courses and orientation programmes.
The State Government and/or the
8.
Better coordination among various institutions is urgently called for. Lack of
communication appears to hamper effective implementation of teacher education
programmes. For instance, delayed declaration of B.Ed. results is proving to be
a formidable problem for many a teacher trainee. Late communication of
guidelines for examination is yet another debilitating factor in the
functioning of the institutions. In this regard, it may be suggested that the
10.Concerned authority needs to address the issue that may be arising out of
the use of different nomenclatures for the same teacher education programme, in
respect to In-service Teacher Education (ISTE) and Pre-service Teacher
Education (PSTE).
11.Awareness must be created about the value of various
teacher education and training programmes provided by IGNOU through distance
education mode in the state. Wide dissemination of information with respect to
the time, criteria and procedure of admission must be made. Better coordination
between the Directorate of School Education and the State Council for
Educational Research and Training should be established for facilitating smooth
functioning of the programmes. On the curriculum transaction, it was found that
the quality of study materials was high but the conduct of various practical
activities needed to be better scrutinised and
coordinated.
CONCLUSION
Recognising the need for quality improvement is not the same as
dismissing teacher education as a non-beneficial programme. It is taking
cognizance of the potential of teacher education to transform the quality of
school education in the state. Nagaland is changing and teacher education
cannot remain out of sync with the changed and changing aspirations, needs,
values and preferences of the people. It is the responsibility of teacher
education institutions to make proactive contributions to the emergence of
finer values in the socio-cultural-political life of the people and to take
‘strong measures’ to raise the bar of performance and productivity in a
creative way. The consequence of not doing anything is certain to be serious.
REFERENCES
IGNOU
(2003)Certificate in Primary Education. Handbook of Practical Activities for Teacher Trainees.
IGNOU,
IGNOU (2005) Student Handbook & Prospectus (B.Ed). IGNOU,
SCERT (2004) Curriculum cum Syllabus. State Council for Educational
Research and Training, Nagaland, Kohima