CHAPTER 6
Implications for Teacher Education
| 6.1 | Fundamental Duties _ Article 51A |
| 6.2 | National Policy on Education (1986/1992) |
| 6.3 | Reorienting Teacher Education Programmes |
| 6.4 | Guidelines/Suggestions |
The foregoing chapters dealing with discrimination based on sex, caste, religion and disability are basically addressed to the school-teacher to enable him/her to develop the desired sensitization necessary for inculcating in their students the concept and value of non-discrimination in relation to the parameters indicated. It has been emphasized that these concerns are at the heart of the Constitution of India and, therefore, all efforts should be made to use the instrumentality of education to bring home to the young minds the importance of the country's Constitution in reshaping the destiny of the Nation. In fact, this is also the spirit of Article 51A of the Constitution relating to Fundamental Duties. Article 51A (a) states "to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem." An important ideal of the Constitution is the provision of equality before law (Article 14) and nurturing this idea is the corner-stone of building up the concept of non-discrimination.
6.1 Fundamental Duties _ Article 51A
A conscious focus on the various provisions of Article 51A would enable curriculum developers and classroom practitioners to bring about a fundamental transformation in handling the content and process of education in the school and teacher education programmes. A discussion on clauses (a) to (j) of the Article, as given below, can initiate the needed dynamics of change.
Fundamental Duties _ It shall be the duty of every citizen of India _
(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
(d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities, to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement.
6.2 National Policy on Education (1986/1992)
A significant exhortation in the National Policy on Education
(NPE) 1986 with modifications undertaken in 1992 incorporates the basic spirit
of Article 51A and reads thus: "The National System of Education will be
based on a national curricular framework which contains a common core along with
other components that are flexible. The common core will include the history of
India's freedom movement, the Constitutional obligations
and other content essential to nurture national identity. These elements will
cut across
subject areas and will be designed to promote values such as India's common
cultural heritage; egalitarianism, democracy and secularism; equality of the
sexes; protection of the environment; removal of social barriers; observance of
the small family norm, and inculcation of the scientific temper. All educational
programmes will be carried on in strict conformity with secular values."
This policy statement reinforces the concern for a total curriculum renovation.
6.3 Reorienting Teacher Education Programmes
It is not enough that the teachers are made aware of the Constitutional provisions about equality and the need for non-discrimination; it will also require educating them in communicating these ideas to the students and impressing on them the need to abide by the dictums of the same. For a serious business of education in Constitutional concerns at the school level, teachers of all subjects at all levels have to be oriented and trained. Accordingly, the curricular coverage of these concepts has to be deliberate and pre-designed. It will be necessary to develop a blueprint indicating reflection of various concerns in different units and topics of the course papers in teacher education curricula. Preparation of teachers, through well-designed teacher education programmes, would actually play a very significant role in ensuring understanding and internalizing of these concepts in our schools, teacher education institutions and communities.
Towards reorienting teacher education which is the most crucial input in operationalizing the ideas mentioned in the preceding chapters, a few suggestions are given below only as guidelines, hoping that the teacher educators will be able to apply their own minds to designing approaches to the implementation of the ideas in various innovative ways.
(a) The present curriculum format of teacher education at different levels, pre-primary, elementary and secondary education is generally based, apart from others on Foundation Courses, which includes philosophical, sociological and psychological perspectives of education. The intention is that the teacher must have a conceptual understanding of the field of education, its significant concerns which are relevant for political, social and cultural development of the nation so that the teacher is just not responsible only for performing "knick knacks" of the task of teaching but is also imbued with the perspectives of creating individuals who can apply their minds to the diverse situations that obtain in the field of education. It is the Foundation Courses which provide a lot of scope for being recast to lay focus on discussion on the issues listed in the preceding chapters. Apart from others, it can re-look at the existing curriculum and divide it into appropriate cluster of topics which include the core elements of the NPE and the Constitutional concerns related to non-discrimination. Other areas of equal relevance for development of the ideas are the internship in teaching and working with the community.
(b) The type of exercises for developing the values related to non-discrimination as given in the chapters on sex/gender, caste/tribe, disability, etc. could become the central themes of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities of the teacher education institutions. It is not the intention to repeat the listing of those activities here in this chapter; a reference can be made to these activities in the appropriate chapters in which they have been listed.
(c) Based on the ideas developed in the earlier chapters, a specific sensitizing module could be developed in relation to different components of teacher education curriculum and made an integral part of all teacher education programme organized by National, State and District level Institutions.
(d) It could also be helpful to plan orientation programme on teacher education on this theme. The seminars could familiarize the teacher educators with strategies for operationalizing the teaching-learning dimensions relevant to the theme. An effective way to institutionalize the concept is to incorporate it in the elementary and secondary pre-service teacher education curriculum. This could be supplemented by a suitable co-curricular programme which should aim at offsetting some of the shortcomings in the curricular approach especially in terms of attitude and value development.
(e) What is needed is a vigorous advocacy with state educational agencies, teacher education institutions and university departments of education for conscious inclusion of such components in the curricula.
(f) In order to overcome the disadvantage of fragmented treatment of the theme, it is suggested that an independent comprehensive unit comprising familiarization with the Constitution of India and its such concerns as impinge on education should be incorporated in the elementary and secondary teacher education courses.
(g) In India, evaluation system influences the educational process especially the quality of classroom teaching significantly, and as such a separate unit of educational imperatives of Constitution will ensure due importance and weightage to the theme in the classroom teaching.
(h) A great deal depends on the ingenuity and dedication of teachers and teacher educators in achieving anything substantial through education. If the concerns are handled with sincerity and purpose, they could definitely bring about the desired transformation in the educational system through teacher education.