Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA) Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad TPO 2015 captures the nation’s imagination
In the eight short weeks since registrations opened, Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA) Teaching Professionals Olympiad TPO 2015 has exceeded all expectations - teachers are traveling from every part of the country to be a part of this one-day competition to be held on Saturday, December 5, in seven cities across India. While teachers from within Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad will be battling it out at the Olympiad, teachers are also travelling from all parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to Chennai or Bangalore, from all parts of Gujarat to Ahmedabad or Mumbai, from Jammu & Kashmir to Delhi and from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and other North-Eastern states to Kolkata. At last count, the participation included teachers from 28 states.
Arun Kapur, Director of the renowned Vasant Valley School in Delhi said, “As educators, we have been waiting for something like this – a way to empower our teachers to take ownership of their professional growth, and to have an objective method to recognize and celebrate them. I imagine using the Olympiad and the CENTA Certification that follows as a tool to recruit and retain teachers and guide their professional development.”
“Frankly speaking, we did not know what to expect as this is a first-of-its-kind competition for teachers. We launched this hoping for the best but even we did not anticipate this wonderful response. We had questioned ourselves if registering online, a nominal registration fee, or competing in one of seven cities across the country would dampen enthusiasm but it is the complete opposite – teachers are traveling from over 300 cities and town across 28 states to participate!”, explained Ramya Venkataraman, Founder and CEO of CENTA.
One experienced Bangalore principal, Manila Carvalho from DPS Bangalore East exclaimed, “When I heard about TPO, I knew I needed to tell all my 300 teachers about it. I invited CENTA to speak to my teachers and to help them register. I feel it is an excellent platform to measure yourself as a teacher, to know your level of knowledge and then work towards enhancing the same. In fact, I have registered myself!”
The Hindu and HCL are primary partners of TPO 2015, with Varkey Foundation and Kaizen being additional supporters. Winners can look forward to national recognition in the Hindu, invitation and sponsorship to an international education conference, education technology devices and cash awards including Rs. 1 lakh to the first place winner. The TPO competition will run as an objective, multiple-choice test. By including innovative situation response questions about the classroom, the test is practice-oriented. TPO 2015 is based on the CENTA Standards or competencies for teachers, and therefore applicable across boards and syllabi.
This inclusive competition format also got the attention of a leading international foundation. Prachi Jain Windlass, Director India Education, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation emphasized the important value of TPO for all teachers and school segments, “TPO provides valuable insight not only to teachers in middle and high income schools, but is also equally relevant for affordable private schools, foundation schools and government schools. We are supporting interested teachers from our grantee organization supported schools in Maharashtra, Himachal, Jharkhand, and Gujarat to participate in this national competition.”
To participate, visit www.tpo-india.org. Registrations close on October 25, 2015.
