A day before the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018, is to be tabled in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State (MoS) in HRD Dr Satyapal Singh has said that it is high time the Centre acted to bring good quality of teachers in the secondary education system.
Singh said that for years the country’s school education suffered due to ill trained teachers. “This in turn reflected in the higher education system where there is a lack of research and innovation temperament,” he added.
The former Mumbai supercop, who will be completing one year in the Modi Council of Minister next month, said there is also a need for imbibing the correct ‘sanskar’ and ‘positivity’ at educational institutes to sow the seeds of success in future education of the nation.
“The HRD Ministry has an ambitious programme of training of teachers starting with an induction programme and annual refresher, orientation programmes. The aim is to ensure that 100 per cent teachers in higher education are oriented towards the latest and emerging trends in their respective domains of knowledge and requisite pedagogies that translate their knowledge to the students,” Singh said in an interview to The Pioneer.
The NCTE Bill was passed in lok Sabha last week to grant retrospective recognition to the Central/State institutions that are conducting teacher education courses without NCTE approval. This has been done as a one-time measure to ensure that the future of students studying in these institutions is not jeopardised.
“The Bill will enable us to shut down the B.Ed shops and recognise only institutions those are doing a regulated service,” Singh said. He added that very soon the Ministry will also crack down on illegal universities duping students across the country.
On higher education platform, the MoS allocated with the Higher Education Department by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that in the past four years, several measures have been undertaken by the Ministry to improve research and encourage innovation in the sector.
“IMPRINT (I and II), GIAN, Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana, Hackathon all combined initiatives are to encourage institutions and faculty and students to undertake meaningful research in higher educational institutions. While one scheme has been revamped with focus on setting up of start-up centres and incubation hubs in select higher educational institutions, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has been encouraging Hackathon to promote the quality of critical thinking amongst the youth and bring creative solutions to larger problems through innovation,” Singh said.
On the grant of ‘Institution of Eminence’ recognition to the non-existent Jio Institute, Singh said “I am not a party to it but whatever has been done is on recommendation of an external committee of eminent persons. The Minister (Prakash Javadekar) has already clarified on the floor of Rajya Sabha that only a letter of intent has been issued and not tagged institute of excellence as stated earlier”.
The first time Member of Parliament (MP) from Bagpath in Western Uttar Pradesh also talked about the initiatives and major developmental activities he has undertaken in his Parliamentary constituency. “My constituency is now well connected with the national Capital through rail and road and the coming of Peripheral Way has boosted the economy of not only Bagpath but adjoining areas too.
Railway lines has been doubled, Government schools have come up. Either in the constituency or in my office at Shastri Bhawan I make it a point to meet each visitor and try to solve their problems,” said Singh, who defeated the Western UP stronghold former Union Minister and RJD chief Ajit Singh.