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UNESCO launches 2021 State of the Education Report for India: No Teacher, No Class
6 April 2022: Today, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched the Marathi language summary version of the 2021 State of the Education Report (SOER) for India: "No Teacher, No Class" in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai as the research partner for the report.
The State of the Education Report (SOER) for India is the annual flagship report of UNESCO New Delhi and it is based on extensive research of national and international priorities in the field of education.
This third edition of the State of Education Report, focused on the theme of teachers, teaching and teacher education, underscores that the work of teaching is complex. It attempts to provide an understanding of key aspects of the teaching profession, provides a profile of the 9.6 million teaching workforce, as well as the challenges of their intricate teaching routine and their professional development.
"With the recently-launched 2020 National Education Policy and the COVID-19 pandemic forming its crucial context, this Report aims to highlight progress and achievements made in India, as well as the continuing challenges faced by the country, by showcasing promising practices and outlining possible directions for future growth." Eric Falt, UNESCO New Delhi Director
*"The pandemic has shown us the importance of the teachers and the need to support them to adapt and respond to challenges. Investing in teachers is the best preparation for the future."*Prof Shalini Bharat, Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
The National Education Policy (NEP), adopted in 2020, acknowledges teachers as crucial elements in the learning process, while stressing the importance of their recruitment, continuous professional development, good work environment and service conditions.
With an in-depth analysis of the current state of teachers in India, highlighting best practices, the UNESCO State of the Education report for India aims to serve as a reference for enhancing the implementation of the NEP and towards the realization of the SDG4 target 4c on teachers.
The report also looks at teachers' experience of ICT and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the teaching profession. The COVID 19 pandemic has drawn attention to the centrality of the profession and the importance of quality of teaching. Most teachers were found to have teaching and learning techniques. They have also expressed the need to have requisite support in this regard.
The report concludes with a set of ten action-oriented recommendations to address the challenges facing the teaching profession in India, and thus help achieve the NEP 2020 vision and objective -- "Ensuring quality education for all in the country".
The ten recommendations are:
- Improve the terms of employment of teachers in both public and private schools
- Increase the number of teachers and improve working conditions in North Eastern states, rural areas and 'aspirational districts'
- Recognize teachers as frontline workers
- Increase the number of physical education, music, art, vocational education, early childhood and special education teachers.
- Value the professional autonomy of teachers
- Build teachers' career pathways
- Restructure pre-service professional development and strengthen curricular and pedagogical reform
- Support communities of practice
- Provide teachers with meaningful ICT training
- Develop teaching governance through consultative processes, based on mutual accountability.
The substance of this Report has been developed by an expert team of researchers in the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, under the guidance of the UNESCO Office in New Delhi.
For more information, please contact:
Joyce Poan, Chief of Education
Email: j.poan@unesco.org(link sends e-mail)
Rekha Beri, Public Information Officer
Email: r.beri@unesco.org(link sends e-mail)
**About CETE: The Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, CETE **(https://bit.ly/cetewebsite)
CETE is an independent centre at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Established in 2015, the Centre has been engaging with, and promoting innovation in school curriculum, teacher education and higher education curriculum and pedagogy. The CETE is working towards revitalising the education sector through research, academic programmes, teaching, field action, policy advocacy, partnerships and collaborations.
The Centre's flagship action research programme, the Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx) (https://clix.tiss.edu), was awarded the UNESCO-King Hamad Prize for the 'Use of ICTs in Education' (2017 edition). CLIx is a collaboration between TISS, MIT and the Tata Trusts.
About TISS:
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was established in 1936 as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work. In 1944, it was renamed as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The year 1964 was an important landmark in the history of the Institute, when it was declared Deemed to be a University under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act (UGC), 1956. Since its inception, the Vision of the TISS has been to be an institution of excellence in higher education that continually responds to changing social realities through the development and application of knowledge, towards creating a people-centred, ecologically sustainable and just society that promotes and protects dignity, equality, social justice and human rights for all.
**For further information, please contact: **
Prof. Padma M. Sarangapani, Chairperson, CETE, TISS
Email: psarangapani@tiss.edu