CHENNAI: In a classic example of demand and supply mismatch, the diploma course in elementary education which had received over one lakh applications a decade ago has received one-third of the applications against the available seats this year. The government aided Teacher Training Institutes (TTIs) which were once much sought after by the students are now struggling to admit even handful of students.
Of 39 government-aided TTIs, 10 institutions could not attract a single student in the current academic year, according to the sources. “Apart from one institute in Chennai which has admitted students in full strength, the remaining institutions could not even fill their 50 per cent of the total intake,” sources said. Even the 32 District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) and 9 government Teacher Training Institutes were able to attract around only 50 per cent of the students. These institutes were able to get 1,450 students against the allotted strength of over 3000.
The 273 private teacher training Institute have admitted around 4,000 students this year. Of around 18,000 seats only 6,000 seats alone were filled this year.
Educationists have pointed out that the unemployment of the diploma holders in elementary education has gradually reduced the admissions into the teacher training Institutions. “There are over one lakh diploma holders are currently unemployed. These candidates are also finding it difficult to get the job in private schools as the school managements prefer B.Ed. graduates,” said R. Ayyappan, former principal, District Institute of Education and Training, Chennai. “For a long time, there was only 70 government, government aided and private teacher training institutions were offering diploma in elementary education. Around 5000 students graduated from these institutions and it met the demand and supply of teachers,” he added.
These institutes also had the very low intake of students. Erstwhile Directorate of Teacher Education and Research (now renamed as State Council for Education Research and Training) used to receive as many as one lakh applications for the diploma courses. Like how engineering courses lost their sheen after mushrooming of private engineering colleges, the diploma in elementary education also lost its value after mushrooming of TTIs. “At one point the number of private TTIs in the state swelled to over 500 and the number of diploma holders coming out each year was increased to 40,000 to 50,000. However, the number of jobs available remained more or less the same,” he noted.
After the introduction of Right to Education Act in 2011, the minimum eligibility to teach classes 6 to 8 increased from diploma to BEd. The act also introduced Teacher Eligibility Test. “It has resulted in the reduction of jobs for diploma holders as they are eligible to teach only classes 1 to 5 instead of classes 1 to 8. A majority of the candidates struggle to clear the teacher eligibility test as well,” headmasters said.
Senior educationist S.S. Rajagopalan has pointed out the lack of jobs as the main reason for the downfall of the teacher training course. “The teacher training course is facing a slow death. There are no job opportunities for the diploma holders in elementary education. How we can expect the students to join the course if there is no hope of getting a job?” he asked. He further called for reform in teacher education like increasing the number of teacher education for four years or giving integrated B.Ed., degree for students instead of the two-year diploma course.
