Mandatory test for teachers’ eligibility soon: Sibal
By IANSMonday, January 17, 2011
NEW DELHI - Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal Monday said that a Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) will soon be made mandatory for teachers as the Right to Education Act is implemented.
Speaking at the meeting of central and state regulatory institutions for School education, the minister said that this test will be as per the norms of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
A statement from the ministry said that while the NCTE is developing the standards and benchmarks for the TET, state governments will be responsible for administering these tests and ensuring that it conforms to high standards.
Meanwhile, an institution framework uniting the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) was also mooted by the minister with the aim to facilitate the flow of information and dialogue.
The frame work will be formed as a mechanism for coordination between various directing bodies in education and bodies like the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) and National Council For Teacher Education (NCTE) are also likely to be a part of the council.
Talking about the development of National Vocational Qualification Framework (NVQF), Sibal said that the government has begun a process of series of consultations with different industry groups to facilitate development of vocational curriculum as demanded by the industry.
He urged the state governments to identify skills specific to their states and develop curriculum for these skills.
The NCERT in its presentation said that the government is planning to set up a 24×7 channel for teaching through ICT. The NCERT will be the nodal agency for this channel and the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will be the collaborating agencies.
The target audience for this channel would be school students in the 5-18 years age group, open education students and neo-adult literates.
