Programme of Action (1992)
The National Policy on Education (1992) gave importance to the functioning of teacher education institutions. Based on the suggestions of NPE and POA, a lot of money is being spent on infrastructure and organization of various in-service programmes. By the year 1998-99 there were forty-five DIETs, seventy-six CTEs and 34l ASEs but has had not much impact on the quality of teacher education. Out of 2426 applications from the training institutions, only 408 were granted recognition by NCTE and 1294 were accorded provisional recognition duringthe year 1998-99. Out of 1349 applications for opening institutions only 277 were allowed and duly recognized. During this period, provisional recognition was accorded to 1035 institutions.
The major suggestions of the Programme of Action were as follows:
- Stressed the need for integration of theory and practice of teacher education programmes.
- By the end of Eighth Five Year Plan, all the districts will be covered by DIETs and two-fifty IASE/CTEs will be set up in the country.
- Suggested to confer autonomous status to SCERT, NCTE and to set up State Boards of Teacher Education.
- Launch of special orientation programme for school teachers for professional development, as a continuation to centrally sponsored scheme.
- Recommended to strengthen Department of Teacher Education in universities and to provide incentives for good performance to teachers and disincentives for non-performers. The NCERT was entrusted to frame such norms for school teachers.
- Entrusted NIEPA and NCERT to develop induction and continuing programmes for DIET, SCERT and CTE faculties.
As per recommendations of NPE and POA 1992, a wide number of teacher education institutions have opened which include 461 DIETS, eighty-five CTES and 371 IASE. Fund was allotted in the Tenth Five Year Plan to arrange in-service programmes for 425 DITEs, teacher training colleges increased from 804 to 1334 in the year 2000. In Tenth Five Year Plan, in-service programmes was conducted to train 16.21 lakh teachers in the country. The in-service programmes were arranged under the scheme of ‘Special Orientation Programme’ for Primary Teachers (SOPT). In the year 1993, statutory status was given to NCTE, as sequel of POA, 1992. Later NCTE framed rules and regulation for maintaining the standard of teacher education including distance education teacher education programmes. NCTE developed ‘Curriculum frame work of Quality Teacher Education’ in 1998 and then in 2009.
The first decade of the twenty-first century had the privilege of the liberalization policy introduced in early nineties. This opened up the education sector to the private players and there was Public Private Partnership (PPP). Encouragement was given to foreign universities to open their branches in this country. National knowledge commission has been set up which recommends to achieve Gross Enrollment Ratio of fifteen per cent by 2015 in higher education. After Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, efforts are being made to universalize secondary education through Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiya (RMSA). The11th Plan is, therefore, called education plan as it gives more emphasis to education especially higher education.