New DEd curriculum for teachers

BANGALORE: The Department of Public Instruction is all set to come out with the first draft of revised curriculum for Diploma in Education (D Ed) course in March this year. Improvising on the National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2009, the new curriculum seeks to initiate professional development among student teachers who complete the 2-year course.Speaking to Express, Commissioner for Public Instruction Tushar Girinath said there was a keen interest to review the D Ed curriculum. “We are preparing to come out with the first draft of the new curriculum by March. The revised curriculum will focus on gender sensitisation and leadership skills of teachers among other things,” he said.The revision comes in the wake of rising instances of sexual crimes committed by teachers, the most recent being the case of a 68-year-old teacher who allegedly molested a 12-year-old girl student. “I personally think he should not have been teaching at that age. We are trying to address such issues by helping prospective teachers develop professionally,” said Girinath.What’s New?The approach paper on D Ed curriculum revision criticises the ‘mechanical’ implementation of practice teaching and internship. It also adds that there is no proper coordination between the annual calendars of primary schools and the D Ed course.It is proposed to have one week each for communicative skills, observation skills, observing model lessons in schools and spoken English training. Also, practice teaching with stray lessons for two weeks and six weeks of internship for developing professionalism are included in both years. On the teaching front, it suggests learning based on children’s experience and comprehensive use of ICT.“A committee has been formed under Dr K Sameer Simha (retired lecturer of Vijaya Teachers College). We will submit the first draft to the government after receiving suggestions and objections. The approach paper is uploaded on our website,” said Director of Department of State Education Research and Training (DSERT) H S Rama Rao.