A look at the Annual Refresher Programme in Teaching and its uses

Last November, the Ministry of Human Resource Development launched the Annual Refresher Programme in Teaching (ARPIT) to improve the quality of higher education faculty. Has it been useful? Some expert comments

 Anurag Bansal, Senior Director, Hughes Global Education, Gurugram

India’s education sector has witnessed a widening skill gap, and therefore, there is an urgent need to transform the country’s education system. Besides improving the infrastructure, the government needs to invest in training teachers who can address these gaps and work towards improving the quality of education. But, until sustained efforts and investments are made, it is difficult to deliver significant impact on learning outcomes.

Sandeep Pachpande, Chairman, ASM Group, Pune

Faculty investment is a worldwide phenomenon, with Nordic countries being the best example of how it can improve a nation’s progress. Recently, Bhutan took an initiative to prioritise its teachers over civil servants. High quality and committed teachers are critical for shaping the talent of the youth. Combined with the policy of ‘Study in India’ and the formation of ‘National Research Fund’, the long pending demand for focus on education can be achieved. Such initiatives will be more effective if remuneration for teachers, across India is standardised.

Vamsi Krishna, CEO and co-founder, Vedantu, bengaluru

This initiative was launched at the right time as it provided educators a push towards staying relevant and being equipped to tackle today’s learning challenges. Such schemes help teachers expand their boundaries while providing them with the know-how for their roles in the next stage of their career, through new-age technology, training and relevant course content. Therefore, this is a well thought out initiative by the government to bolster the education system and demonstrate measurable impact.

Yajulu Medury, Director, Mahindra École Centrale, Hyderabad

One of the pressing issues of higher education is the lack of quality teachers. The government’s decision to set up an annual refresher course has been a step in the right direction as it will lead to better teaching outcomes, subject to stringent implementation. Faculty development is an integral part of any education system, and the quality of education can only improve if more faculty members are encouraged to pursue research and are up-to-date with the developments in their respective fields.

Saurabh Pandey, Senior Faculty, Shankar Academy of Art, New Delhi

Education is the most powerful tool through which we can change the world, and an effective faculty gives it an upper edge. This initiative has the capability to make a change in the educational sector by focusing on the development of dynamic teachers. It tends to nurture academics which will, in turn, help the future torchbearers to be better leaders, and hence lead to the improvement of higher education faculty.