Chennai: The two-year diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) course has lost its sheen as evident in the number of students enrolling for this course. Of the 9,971 seats in 538 teacher training institutions (TTIs) in the state, only 1,550 have been filled this year.The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), which conducts admission counselling for government quota seats in teacher education institutes across the state, received 3,000 applications for 9,971 seats this year, whereas the Council had 17,000 applicants in 2010.
The number of TTIs too has come down drastically from 756 in 2010 to 538 in 2015. Attributing the lack of job opportunities for teachers as one of the main reason for fewer students taking up the course, Sami. Sathyamurthy, state general secretary of TN High and Higher Secondary School Head Masters’ Association said that about 30,000 students who had already completed the course a couple of years ago still remain jobless.
“Government has filled up all vacant teacher posts in government schools. It says there are surplus teachers. Even though a person clears D.El.Ed, he/she also has to pass the state Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) to become a teacher. The interest level among male students has also come down, which added to the sorry state of affairs,” Sathyamurthy said. Adding to Sathyamurthy’s view, K. Saravanan, an aspiring teacher, said that as private schools pay less to D.El.Ed graduates several have joined BSc course in an arts and science college to pursue higher studies.
