Teachers to take quality test

For as long back as you can think, it has always been the teachers who have tested the proficiency of students. However, with the Right To Education (RTE) Act, 2009 coming into existence, it will soon be compulsory for school teachers to take the quality test - the Central Teachers Eligibility Test (CTET).

The Union ministry of human resource and development has authorised the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to conduct the CTET for appointment of teachers from standards I to VIII in central government and CBSE-affiliated schools. The CTET will for the first time be conducted in Pune, Mumbai and Thane on June 26.

The test has currently been made mandatory for new appointments of teachers to CBSE schools under the central government - like Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, Tibetan Schools and schools under the administrative control of the Union Territory of Chandigarh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, as well as other schools affiliated to the CBSE.

The test is necessary for teachers who want to join CBSE schools, for they will not be eligible for consideration if not armed with CTET scores.

In the city, however, the management of certain CBSE schools, which are not under the Central government, have asked the present lot of teachers to also take the test, but no one is complaining since the teachers are seeing it as an opportunity to brush up their skills.

Speaking to TOI on Thursday, N Nagaraju, joint secretary, CBSE, and in-charge of CTET, said, "The implementation of RTE Act requires the recruitment of a large number of teachers across the country in a time-bound manner. Despite the enormity of the task, we need to ensure that the quality requirement of teachers is not diluted at any cost."

He further said, "It is important to ensure that individuals recruited as teachers possess the essential aptitude and ability to meet the challenges of teaching at primary and upper primary levels. The CTET is designed in such a way that all the requirements to recruit quality teachers are met through the test."

"The test may also apply to unaided private schools, who may exercise the option of considering the CTET," Nagaraju said.

Neelam Chakrabarty, principal, Delhi Public School, said, "It was a management decision to ask all our teachers to write the examination. A total of 84 teachers from our school will be appearing for the CTET and they are currently preparing for the same."

Aspiring teacher Rajani Venkat, who is taking the exam, said, "The CTET is for teachers what entrance examinations are to students. Thus, it is like an entrance exam for teachers before being appointed in schools. I believe this will only fine tune our teaching skills and produce quality teachers."

English teacher Kanika Swami, who is also writing the exam, said, "The CTET will have multiple-choice questions. We have seen our students writing exams based on this pattern. So getting first-hand experience will help. Also, the exam will hone our expertise. For example, when I will now explain Nelson Mandela as a personality or the geography of Africa, I will have a better idea, since I am going through these lessons all over again."

Swami said, "Apart from that, preparing for an exam is learning in itself and is part of my growth process as a teacher."

This is the first year of the CTET, which will now be conducted annually. The validity period of CTET qualifying certificate for appointment is seven years. There is no restriction on the number of attempts for acquiring a CTET certificate. A person who has gets the CTET degree may also appear again for improvement of scores.

Jayashree Venkatraman, principal, DAV Public School, said, "The test will definitely bring about all-round development of the teachers. An English teacher will also be writing mathematics and science papers and vice-versa. The process will add to the existing qualification of our teachers."

Source:TOI