Teachers’ quality depends on competence, empathy: Joshi

Pralhad Joshi, India's Union Education Minister, emphasized the critical importance of teachers' competence and empathy in delivering a high-quality education when he addressed the National Council for Teacher Education's (NCTE) 32nd Foundation Day celebrations via video message. Joshi highlighted the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020's focus on building "Viksit Bharat" by 2047, asserting that the quality of education hinges on the competence and empathy exhibited by teachers.

He further announced that the four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) course would serve as the sole recognized qualification for school teacher recruitment starting in 2030. NCTE has expanded ITEP from a pilot program in 42 institutions to serve 3,950 students in the 2023-24 academic year to over 409 institutions offering more than 38,000 seats in the current academic year.

Regarding the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in teacher education, Joshi stressed the need for responsible usage, advocating for the technology to enhance pedagogy while preserving essential human values. He stated, "AI should enrich pedagogy without replacing essential human values." The NCTE's foundation day events, held at Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida, coincided with a national conference centered on "Reflection, Reform, and Future Readiness."

Over 400 ITEP institutions were represented at the conference, held in a hybrid format. Professor Pankaj Arora, Chairperson of NCTE, delivered a welcome address, outlining the Council's transformative journey and its ongoing commitment to fostering a robust teaching ecosystem that aligns with national priorities. Several initiatives were officially launched at the event, including the MITRA and PUSHTI mobile applications designed for teacher mentoring and continuous professional development under the National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) and National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST), respectively.

NCTE also released implementation handbooks for these initiatives, publications on AI in Teacher Education and Pedagogy in Higher Education, and new volumes of its journals "Anweshika" and the "Indian Journal of Teacher Education." Additionally, the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) at NCTE headquarters was inaugurated to enhance educational support services.