The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : “Teacher training institutes need supervision”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 24, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Teacher training institutes need supervision”

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: There is a dire need for a supervisory mechanism to implement fee structure, maintain standards of education and development of infrastructure and teaching facilities in institutions offering teacher training courses, the State Government has told the Madras High Court.

In a counter-affidavit, filed in response to a writ petition assailing the fee fixed by the Government for these institutions and seeking a direction to the Government to constitute a Fee Committee, the Additional Secretary in the School Education Department said: “In the absence of any supervisory mechanism, as of now, it would be a difficult task to produce quality teachers in whose hands the future of primary education is to be entrusted.”

Describing it as a helpless situation, the counter said the Government had already sent proposals to the National Council for Teacher Education for the formation of a committee for fixing fee under Regulation 5 of the NCTE Fee Regulations 2002. “The identification of the persons for appointment is on and the newly constituted committee will be notified very shortly by the Government.”

As for the service conditions of the faculty members in these institutions, the counter said that study and inspection of the institutions revealed that they were always short of teaching hands and that the teachers on roll were poorly paid. “The infrastructure, laboratory and teaching aid are insufficient for the completion of the curriculum. In the absence of these requirements, the fee fixed by the State is quite reasonable and will serve the interest of students at large.”

The institutions offering teacher training courses do not maintain accounts, as stipulated by the Government.

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