The Joint Review Mission (JRM) of Government of India has lauded the pre service curriculum of teachers in Uttarakhand. The JRM conducted review in 18 States of country on the status of teacher education. The State Head of Azim Premji Foundation Anant Gangola said this while talking to The Pioneer on Friday. Azim Premji foundation (APF) was instrumental in formulating the curriculum of teacher training in Uttarakhand.
A renowned academician, Gangola who is heading APF said that the foundation worked in collaboration with the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) and designed the curriculum for training the teachers of the state. He said that the curriculum is more practical and socially relevant now. Gangola stressed that the prevailing concept of getting education for grabbing jobs only is flawed instead of this the purpose of getting education should be to achieve equality, harmony and excellence. He said that education should have a social purpose so that the individuals become reflective practitioners who can participate in a vibrant democracy and respect the regional, social and gender diversities. When asked about the role of APF in brining about this fundamental change in education Gangola said that such changes take very long time to manifest themselves. Giving the example of Savitri Bai Phule who pioneered the field of women education in India initiated her work in 1848; he said that the idea of education for women and dalit women she conceptualized took more than a century to accomplish.
Gangola said that APF in last three years has brought major changes in the curriculum of teacher education and worked with the State education department to introduce the concept of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in the schools of the State. The concept aims developing such an evaluation of the students which is not based on traditional concept of taking examination and giving marks or even grades to the students.
The APF which is having a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Uttarakhand government since 2005 is running two model schools in Dineshpur at Rudrapur (Udhamsingh Nagar district) and Matli in Uttarkashi districts where the foundation is practically implementing the concepts of modern education.