The youth unemployment problem in India is often blamed on the lack of adequate skills despite increasing education levels. While this is not entirely an accurate analysis of the employment problem, in terms of quality of education it is the case that India performs quite poorly in terms of learning achievements. Although enrolment rates have increased with near universalisation of elementary education, the quality of education leaves much to be desired. Any improvements in learning outcomes would strongly depend on the teacher in the classroom.
Teachers play an extremely important role in any society. They have a critical role in shaping young minds and through this have the potential to influence how an entire generation thinks and acts. Although there is increased access to and an abundance of information through online sources, a teacher in the classroom often enjoys the power of being the final authority on everything for their students. This immense power of course comes also with great responsibility. The best teachers are in fact the ones who teach the students not to believe everything they say without critically examining and questioning the ideas they are being exposed to in the classroom. Teachers are also central to the agenda of skill development, that seems to be on everybody’s agenda currently.
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Much of the discussion surrounding teachers, however, especially in government schools, often blames them for the problems. Teacher-absenteeism, lack of accountability and poor pedagogy practices are often cited as the main reasons for the state of learning in the country. While some of these issues do exist, the working conditions of teachers and how they can be improved must also receive adequate attention. Improving the situation of teachers, would also contribute to better learning outcomes. This is true at all levels, beginning from preschool to university education.
Among school teachers, there is a wide variation in work conditions both due to the different kind of schools that exist as well as the varying contractual arrangements that teachers work under. About 50% of school teachers are in government schools, while 35% are in the private unaided sector. The remaining are in aided-schools, madarsas etc. The UNESCO report, ‘State of the Education Report for India 2021: No Teacher No Class’ shows that 43% of school teachers in the country have no written contract — 29% of teachers in government and 69% of teachers in the private sector. The average wage/salary earned by those without contract or contracts of less than three years is much less than those with a contract for more than three years. About 47% have a contract of more than three years. This reports also discusses a number of other important issues related to teachers’ work conditions.
Despite common perception, the workload on teachers is also very high. The same UNESCO report estimates a shortage of one million teachers in the country. Subject teachers for higher classes and teachers for special education, are especially missing. In colleges and universities too, there is a problem of lack of adequate number of teachers. Many sanctioned posts lie vacant while faculty are appointed on a guest/ad hoc basis with extremely low pay and other conditions of work.
The poor infrastructure, especially in public (government) schools and universities also affects teachers’ morale and the overall teaching-learning environment. For instance, in the last couple of years, there have been multiple reports of roofs collapsing in various government institutions due to lack of repair and maintenance. In government schools in many parts of the country, basic amenities such as having a classroom for every grade and functional toilets are still a luxury. Faculty rooms, well-stocked libraries, science labs, sufficient teaching aids and so on seem like a dream. Even in the private sector, there is heterogeneity with most not having these facilities. It is only a few elite private institutions catering to a very small proportion of students who can afford to pay high fees that is able to provide these facilities.
There are issues of training and the capacity of the teachers to transact the best-practice pedagogies in their classrooms that need addressing. With increasing use of digital technologies, there is now a new skill that teachers need to be trained in as well as have access to the infrastructure to be able to utilise these resources.
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These are just some of the issues facing teachers across educational institutions. Despite all the challenges, millions of teachers across the country work day in and day out to give the best to their students. This week, we celebrated Teachers’ Day (September 5) in India on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishna. Like with other ‘days’, there are social media memes on importance of teachers, celebrations in schools and colleges and multiple whatsapp messages. The President of India confers National Teachers’ awards on this day every year to selected teachers from across the country in appreciation of their service. Not much discussion however happens on teachers over the rest of the year. It is time that teachers’ efforts are appreciated and their issues addressed.
Reforms in the education system must take teachers along rather than trying to subvert them. Teachers must be involved in planning curriculum and pedagogy and given opportunities to provide feedback on the resources they need to excel in the classroom. Ensuring dignity and respect for teachers and a conducive environment is essential for improving learning in educational institutions. Institutional processes should be designed with teachers and students at the centre, with everything else in place to enable their interaction towards the best possible outcomes.
Dipa Sinha is a development economist.
