National curriculum framework for teacher education, 2009: A review of its perspectives and relevanceness

Abstract

The education commission (1964-1966) professed, “The destiny of India is now being shaped in her classrooms.” So did the National policy on Education 1986 emphasize: “The status of the teacher reflects the socio-cultural ethos of the socity, it is said that no people can rise above the level of its teachers.” Such exhortations are indeed and expression of the important role played by the teachers as transmitters, inspirers and promoters of man’s eternal quest for knowledge. In this regard teacher education becomes an essential part of educational system. To prepare effective, skill full and humane teacher, pre-service as well as in-service teacher programmes have come into the scenario of education. In India there are several courses and programmes as well as institutions for the education of teachers. There is an urgent need for guiding the teacher education programmes. In this background National Council for Teacher Education (N.C.T.E) developed N.C.F.T.E, 2009 on the basis of National Curriculum Framework 2005 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 as well as the fundamental tenets enshrined in the Constitution of India. The initial draft of the NCFTE 2009 was developed by an expert Committee Comprising of Prof. C.L. Anand, Prof. Raja Ganesan, Prof. S.V.S. Chaudhury, Prof. V.K. Sabharwal, Prof. C. Seshadri, Prof. R.S. Khan and Prof. L.C. Singh based on the ideas generated in a series of intensive deliberations by the members of the committee and eminent scholars, teachers educators, teachers, trainee teachers, representatives of NGOs, faculty of RIEs of NCERT, SCERTs, DIETs, IASEs, CTEs, university departments of education, and state departments of education at the two National Consultative meets held at Udaipur and Hyderabad. This National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education elaborates the context, concerns and vision underscoring that teacher education and school education have a symbiotic relationship and developments in both these sectors mutually reinforce the concerns necessary for qualitative improvements of the entire spectrum of education including teacher education as well. The new concerns of school curriculum and the expected transactional modalities have been emphasized in designing this framework for all stages of school education. Issues related to inclusive education, perspectives for equitable and sustainable development, gender perspectives, role of Community Knowledge in education and ICT in schooling as well as e-learning become the centre-stage in the Framework. The main purpose of this present article is to focus in the various aspect of NCFTE, 2009 and to evaluate its relevanceness in the present system of education and to highlight the views of teachers in connection with this framework.