The editorial “Training the teacher” (Jan. 17) has done well to throw light on the dismal state of teacher training. One wonders why the government has been neglecting this vital sector. A majority of teacher training institutions in the country has deteriorated into factories producing B. Ed graduates.
The B.Ed. syllabus, including pedagogy, should be reconstructed to meet the present-day challenges. All teacher education programmes should aim at improving competence and skill of teachers. Private institutions that impart sub-standard education should be closed. Well-staffed government institutions with good infrastructure are the need of the hour.
S.K. Vijayan,
Alappuzha
Aside from reasons such as mushrooming of institutes that lack basic infrastructure and qualified teaching staff, the absence of committed students is a reason for the high failure rate in the eligibility test. It has become a common practice among training institutes and colleges to pass off faculty members of other colleges as their own during visits by accreditation committees. This unethical practice should stop. In order to attract the truly interested and sincere young men and women, the teaching profession should be made more attractive with higher salaries and time-bound promotions.
S. Nallasivan,
Tirunelveli
