Jharkhand education minister to MHRD: Train 3,500 para teachers

NEW DELHI: The education minister of Jharkhand, Jagarnath Mahto, has requested the Ministry of Human Resource and Development to conduct training for 3,500 para-teachers.

In a letter addressed to HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ sent on Thursday, Mahto said that 3,500 para teachers have not received the D.El.Ed training initiated by the MHRD in 2017 to get all employed but untrained teachers to get the necessary teaching qualification.

The Right to Education Act 2009 requires all teachers to be professionally trained. In 2017, the deadline for that had expired with over 11 lakh untrained teachers still in schools. The ministry extended the deadline and launched a D.El.Ed programme to be delivered online.

“Under this initiative, many untrained teachers were to able to access training free of cost,” Mahto wrote. “The welfare scheme has helped the teachers and para teachers to reach out to the students during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added. While a majority of the para teachers were able to sign up and have completed the training after appearing in the D.EL.Ed exam conducted by National Institute of Open Schooling, about 3,500 still remain, Mahto said in his letter.

NIOS द्वारा आयोजित D•El•ED परीक्षा में सम्मिलित होकर झारखण्ड के अधिसंख्य पारा शिक्षक प्रशिक्षित हो गए हैं। कतिपय कुछ पारा शिक्षक (लगभग 3500 ) अप्रशिक्षित रह गए हैं। इन सभी अप्रशिक्षित शिक्षकों को परीक्षण हेतु एक और अवसर प्रदान करने के लिए ,आग्रह पत्र। @DrRPNishank pic.twitter.com/SpCCHeT3V3

— Jagarnath Mahto (घर में रहें - सुरक्षित रहें) (@Jagarnathji_mla) July 16, 2020

MHRD Teacher training

Earlier in February, Jagarnath Mahto had requested the MHRD to make arrangements for the training of remaining para teachers in the state. The previous chief minister of Jharkhand had also sent a letter to the MHRD in August 2019. However, there was no response from the central government.

To provide training to para-teachers employed in schools across the country, the MHRD had allowed the National Institute of Open Schooling to offer the D.El.Ed programme online in 2017.

The gigantic project of MHRD aimed to train 11 lakh teachers by March 31, 2019. The programme was approved by the teacher training regulator, National Council for Teacher Education, but has led to much litigation because as per the body’s own regulations, the first teaching qualification had to be earned through a convention, or “face-to-face” programme. The MHRD’s 2017 initiative required NCTE to bend that regulation.

Considering the huge number of untrained teachers in the country, the D.EL.Ed programme was taught through distance learning mode.

Also read:

• HRD Minister launches online version of teachers training scheme
  
• Online class: Delhi Government allows appointment of guest teachers

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