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1.

0 INTRODUCTION

Pratham being a non-government organisation working in the field of primary education is


interested in setting up its own primary teachers training college (PTTC) in Gujarat. The project
was floated to understand the existing structure of PTTC in Gujarat. This required conducting a
survey of forty Primary Teachers Training Colleges in Gujarat and present a detailed analysis of
the existing structure of Primary Teachers Training Colleges in the state.

By reviewing the post independence growth of primary education in Gujarat it was found that
there are good number of primary schools and enrolment. Today, there is a primary school in
every revenue village and the state has achieved the national norm of providing a primary school
within one kilometer and upper primary school within three kilometers radius of a village.
(Source: www.gujarateducation.gswan.gov.in)

The ratio of lower primary school to upper primary school in the state is higher at 2:1 than the
national norm of 3:1. But all these facts aside; the student teacher ratio in primary schools is
1:42.5 which is not only higher than the national norm of 1:40 but also a matter of great concern
because this hampers imparting good quality of education to children. The shortage of teachers
compounded with various other socio-economic factors is also responsible for the high rate of
dropout.

To address the dropout problem and achieve the Universalisation of Elementary Education
(UEE) in a time-bound manner, the government of India has launched Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
(SSA). This programme is an effort at effectively involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions,
School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum level Education Committees, Parent
Teacher Associations, Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass
root level structure in the management of elementary schools.

The objectives of SSA are well defined as follows:

 All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, ' Back-to-School'
camp by 2003.

 All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007.

 All children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010.

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 Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for
life.

 Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary
education level by 2010.

 Universal retention by 2010.

(Source: http://www.ssa.nic.in/)

Pratham’s goal “By 2010, every child in India is in school………… And learning well” matches
with that of SSA and caters to the well-cherished need of the community. It addresses the
problem of children ‘being out of school and not learning’ through encompassing triangular
partnership of corporate sector, government and the citizens with easy and cost effective mode of
replicability and scalability.

The major programmes through which the Pratham movement is trying to accomplish its mission
of ‘Every child in school …………. And learning well’ are as follows:

1. Balwadi Pre School Programme- It targets pre school children in the 3-5 years age.

2. Bridge Course Programme- It targets children in the 6-12 years age group who have
never attended school.

3. Balsakhi Remedial Education Programme- It targets municipal school children from


standard II – IV helping achieve literacy and numeric skill.

There are many more programmes that Pratham is running in Gujarat. Only the major few
have been mentioned here.

(Source: http://www.prathamguj.org)

Despite the expansion of school-network in Gujarat, a sizeable number of children in the age
group of 6-14 years are out of school. Pratham, working in the field of primary education and
trying to universalize it, found in its surveys that a good chunk of even those going to schools are
not learning well. This aside, the high dropout rate compounds the problem that needs to be
addressed immediately. This is indicative of existing wide gap between demand and supply of
quality in, particular, and quantity, in general, of teachers. It is in this backdrop that Pratham is
interested to know the detailed structures of PTC colleges in the state so as to fill the gap in order

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to make a meaningful step forward in the direction of its goal. The project has been taken up
with the purpose to understand if Pratham can set up PTTC in the least served districts of Gujarat
and if it makes sense to commercially start PTTC in the larger scheme of “Educational Supply
Chain”.

2.0 RESEARCH DESIGN

Survey based research was designed keeping in view the purpose behind the project. Forty PTTC
were required to be surveyed across Gujarat under the project. The required survey involved
collection of data by interviewing principals, teachers and students. It involved developing
questionnaire, pre testing it, revising the instrument and then carry out survey.

2.1 The management problem

To formulate structure for the proposed Primary Teacher Training Colleges (PTTC) to be
established in least served districts of Gujarat.

2.2 Research problem

To study the existing structure of Primary Teacher Training Colleges in Gujarat and present a
detailed analysis of the existing structure.

2.3 Research objectives

To study the existing structure of Primary Teacher Training Colleges in Gujarat which includes
following:

1. Regulatory structure

2. Administrative Structure and other details

3. Infrastructure

2.4 Scope of study

• Type of colleges: PTTC run by the government, privately and those run with the
government aid.

• Area: The state of Gujarat.

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2.5 Limitations

• Language: Most of the literature, forms etc. are published in Gujarati that created
difficulty in understanding by us.

• Time: Time allotted for the project was less given the fact that those colleges were
located in interiors too and it took time to reach them.

2.6 Data requirements

Informations related to type of colleges, number of teachers, number of students, fee structure,
course curriculum, source of finance for running colleges, level of satisfaction among students
and teachers with the existing structure were collected.

2.7 Sources of data

2.7.1 Primary sources

1. PTTCs across Gujarat state being run by government, privately, and run with the aid from
government.

2. Directorate of Primary Education; Government of Gujarat.

3. Gujarat Council of Education and Research, Gandhinagar.

4. District Institute of Education and Training.

Refer to Annexure No. 1 for list of colleges surveyed.

Refer to Annexure No.2 for list of government offices contacted and officials met.

Refer to Annexure No.3 for list of teachers and students interviewed during survey.

2.7.2 Secondary sources

1. Internet.

2. Publications on education from Pratham and other publishers.

3. Publications and forms of published by government departments.

Refer to Annexure No. 4 for list of publications reviewed and name of the publisher.

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3.0 WORKING DEFINITIONS

1. Government aided colleges: The kind of colleges, which were initially started by private
trust but later started to get government grants to run them. They are still managed by
trust but guided by the stipulations from the government.

2. Private colleges: Such colleges whose management is totally in the private hands.

3. Government owned colleges: Colleges, which are managed by either the state
government or the central government.

4. Least served districts: Those districts of Gujarat where there is the least ratio of PTTC
and the population in comparison to other districts. Also the number of teachres
demanded are more in these districts. Example: Navsari, Porbandar, Kutch etc.

5. Primary Teachers: Those teachers who pass out from the PTTCs and impart child
education in primary schools.

Child education is categorized as a) Pre-Primary Education, which caters to children aged


5 and is not compulsory and b) Elementary Education, catering to children aged 6 to 14
years, which is free and compulsory as per the 93rd amendment of the constitution.

6. Co-education: Girls and boys studying together in the same school/college and in the
same classroom if they are in the same class or at the equal level of learning.

4.0 METHODOLOGY

This study is a descriptive study as it is being conducted to understand the existing structure of
the PTTC. However, a comparison was drawn to see if there are any differences based on the
sampling criteria.

For this, a cross tabulations was attempted to bring out the differences if any. This will be done to
find if there are any differences in the structure within a given set of PTTC.

4.1 Sampling plan

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Survey of 40 PTTC was supposed to be done in Gujarat. The total number of PTTC in Gujarat is
201. (Source: Prospectus for admission to PTTC in Gujarat (2004-05), Directorate of Primary
Education Gujarat).

We did stratified random sampling to select the sample. We took the following three sampling
variables namely:

1. Location

2. Ownership basis

3. Gender of student

Refer to Annexure 5 for the sample plan details.

4.1.1 Location

We divided the whole of Gujarat in six geographical regions on map. These regions were east,
west, central, north, south and Saurashtra. Saurashtra was not added as a part of the west region
because conventionally Saurashtra is identified as a separate region in Gujarat. Based on the
geographical location on Gujarat map we put each district in one of the locations. As per our plan
the district under each location has been given below:

East : Vadodara, Dahod, Panchmahal, Valsad and Narmada

West : Kutch

Central : Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Kheda, Anand, and Surendranagar

North : Banaskantha, Patan, Sabarkantha and Mehsana

South : Valsad, Navsari, Dang, Surat and Bharuch

Saurashtra : Jamnagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, Amreli, Rajkot and Bhavnagar

Altogether fifteen districts were covered under our sample survey.

The districts covered in the survey have been darkened in map below.

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Figure 1: Districts covered in the survey.

4.1.2 Ownership basis

• Government-owned PTTC: Colleges, which are owned and managed by state government
or government agency.

• Government-aided PTTC: The kind of colleges, which were initially started by private
trust but later started to get government grants to run them. They are still managed by
trust but guided by the stipulations from the government.

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• Self-financed PTTC: These are the colleges, which are owned and managed by private
trust. However they have to follow government stipulations in order to remain affiliated
with government body.

4.1.3 Gender of student

Based on the gender of student following three categories of PTTC were identified.

1. Only for male students

2. Only for female students

3. Both male and female allowed (Co-education)

All 201 colleges were given a serial number and they were identified as PTTC under
Government College for male or female or Co-education. Similarly for government aided and
self financed college PTTC were identified as for male or female or Co-education category.

Refer to Annexure 6 for district wise distribution of colleges under different category.

4.2 Instruments used

1. Structured questionnaire for college principal

2. Checklist for students

3. Checklist for teachers

Refer to Annexure 7 for questionnaire used during survey.

Refer to Annexure 8 and 9 for checklist used for interview of teacher and student.

4.2.1 Questionnaire

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We developed questionnaire to be administered to the principal of the college to be surveyed.
This questionnaire was a five page long questionnaire containing questions on different aspects
of the PTTC. The areas covered under questionnaire were related to following aspects:

• Administrative

• Financial

• Human resource

• Infrastructure

• Qualification of teachers

• Course content and methodology

• Degree of autonomy in running PTTC

• Evaluation parameters

• Training

• Relationship with government agencies

At the beginning we started with some general quantitative data and than we moved to specific
questions on different qualitative aspects. The questionnaire was pre tested and changes were
incorporated before using it for survey.

We did a survey of 40 PTTC as per the sample plan in twenty days.

4.2.2 Checklist for students

We also developed a checklist for conducting an unstructured interview with the students. This
was done to understand their attitude about PTTC education in Gujarat. This was also helpful in
cross verification of the facts and figures that college administration gave us. Following were the
areas discussed under the students survey :

• Fees actually paid

• Opportunities after PTTC education

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• Why preference for the particular college

• Hostel facilities

• Teachers

• Subjects taught

• Number of students per room in hostel

• Food facilities

4.2.3 Checklist for teachers

Similarly for teachers we also developed a checklist that was used for conducting unstructured
interview. This was done to understand their preference for type of PTTC, salary and other
benefits given. This also helped in cross verification of the facts and figures that college
administration gave us. Following were the areas discussed under the teachers survey:

• Salary and perks

• Why Preference for the particular college

• Autonomy given in class handling

• Growth opportunities

• Issues related to PTTC education

• Their view on the centralised admissions process

We covered forty students and forty teachers in survey.

Refer to Annexure 3 for name and colleges of the teachers and students.

5.0 STRUCTURE OF PTTC IN GUJARAT

Based on the survey and information collected from secondary sources we found the following
structure.

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5.1Regulatory structure

Ministry of Human Resources & Development


GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

NCERT NCTE

DPE
GCERT

DIET

PTTC

Figure 2: Regulatory structure of PTTC education

The above figure represents the regulatory and monitoring structure of PTTC education in
Gujarat.

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The PTTC in every district is run under direct surveillance of DIET. GCERT at the state level
makes policy guidelines and training materials in consultation with DIETs. These guidelines
DIET use in the concerned district. NCTE sets norms and guidelines at the national level. Before
starting up a PTTC, NCTE gives it permission after inspecting that the necessary structure for
running a PTTC is present. NCERT role is in the design of course ware at the national level and
all state level council of educational research and training (like GCERT) work under it.

Role of the regulatory agencies in PTTC education is being discussed below.

5.2 National Council For Teachers Education (NCTE)

This is the national body which set norms and guidelines which all PTTC needs to follow in
order to remain affiliated. NCTE has clearly defined the infrastructure, academic and all other
requirements for setting up a PTTC. It sets the minimum eligibility for taking admission in
PTTC. It also makes rules for the minimum level that is expected from teaching and non-
teaching staff. However it does not have a say in the financial matters. It does not grant any
financial support. Its role is of keeping a check on the rise of PTTC, which do not follow set
norms.

The norms and standards for elementary teacher education programme are discussed below.

(Source: website www.ncte-in.org/norms/ele.htm)

5.2.1 Eligibility

• Candidates with at least 45% marks in the senior secondary examination (+2), or its
equivalent, are eligible for admission.

• Admission should be made either on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying
examination or in the entrance examination conducted by the State Government,
as per the policy of the State Government.

• There shall be reservation of seats for SC/ST/OBC, Handicapped, Women, etc. as


per the rules of the concerned State Government.

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5.2.2 Faculty and non-teaching staff requirements and eligibility

• There shall be at least 150 teaching days in a year exclusive of period of


admission, examination, etc. Besides, every teacher trainee shall be required to
undergo internship in teaching (including practice teaching/skill development) at
least for 30 days in nearby elementary schools.

• Apart from teaching of foundation subjects, there shall be provision for teaching
of methods subjects relating to primary and upper primary curriculum, namely,
Regional Language/Mother Tongue, English, Mathematics, Science and Social
Studies.

• For a unit of 50 students or less (with combined strength of 100 or less for the
two-year course), the full-time teaching faculty shall comprise of the
Principal/Head and at least five lecturers. For intake of students in excess of the
prescribed unit, the number of full time teachers shall be increased
proportionately.

• Appointment of teachers should be so distributed as to ensure the required nature


and level of expertise for teaching methodology courses and foundation courses.

• For teaching subjects such as physical education, art, work experience, music,
information technology literacy, etc., part-time instructors may be appointed.

5.2.3 Qualifications of Teaching Staff

Principal

• Academic and professional qualification will be as prescribed for the post of


Lecturer.

• At least five years’ experience of teaching in elementary teacher education


institutions.

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Lecturer

• Good academic record with M.Ed./M.A. (Education) with 55% marks,


preferably with specialisation in elementary education.
or
Good Academic record with Master’s Degree with 55% marks in the relevant
school subject and Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.), or B.Ed.
preferably with specialisation in elementary education, and with five years’
teaching experience in recognised elementary schools.

• A relaxation of 5% may be provided, from 55% to 50% of the marks, at the


Master’s level for SC/ST Category.

• Qualifications for other academic staff for teaching physical education, art, work
experience, information technology literacy, etc. shall be as prescribed by the concerned
State Government.

5.2.4 Infrastructure Facilities

• Space for conducting instructional activities for approved intake of students,


rooms for the principal and faculty members, and office for the administrative
staff and a store. The size of instructional space shall not be less than There shall
be provision for adequate number of classrooms, hall, laboratory 10 sq.ft. Per
student.

• There shall be a library equipped with text and reference books relating to
prescribed courses of study, education encyclopedia, year books, electronic
publications (CD-ROMs) and journals on teacher education and other software
relevant to the elementary stage.

• There shall be games facilities with playground. Alternatively, the playground


available with the attached school or local body may be utilized and where there

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is scarcity of space as in metropolitan towns/hilly regions, facilities for yoga,
indoor games may be provided.

• To provide these facilities, the Management / Institutions shall, at the time of


making application, have in its possession adequate land / land and building on
ownership basis free from all encumbrances. Govt. land acquired on long-term
lease as per the law of the concerned State / UT will also be considered valid for
the purpose. Pending construction of permanent building in the above land, the
institution may provide these facilities in suitable temporary premises up to a
maximum period of 3 years, before expiry of which the institution should shift to
its permanent building.

5.2.5 Instructional Facilities

• There shall be a multi-purpose educational laboratory with psychology and science


sections, and a workshop attached to it.

• The science section shall have the apparatus and chemicals required to demonstrate all
the experiments as per the syllabus of elementary schools.

• The psychology section shall have facilities for conducting the following tests : Sensory-
motor, Intelligence (Performance, Verbal and Non-verbal), Aptitude, Personality and
Interest Inventories including Projective Tests : provision for conducting simple Piagetian
and Brunnerian experiments.

• There shall be hardware and software facilities for language learning.

• There shall be an Educational Technology laboratory with hardware and software


required for imparting Information Technology (IT) literacy.

5.3 Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT)

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Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training is an autonomous, nodal institute catering
to the qualitative improvement of education at the primary and secondary levels. This institute
was originally the State Institute of Education set up in 1962 - which was later upgraded as the
Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training.

The objective of GCERT is as follows:

• To bring about qualitative improvement at all levels of education.

• To promote educational research

• To organize pre-service and in-service training programmes

• To assist / advise the Department of Education, Govt. of Gujarat to implement its policies
and major programme in the field of primary education.

• To provide leadership, academic guidance suggestions to institutions such as DIETs,


CTEs, IASEs and GBTC to achieve the goals of revamping primary education in Gujarat
state.

• To publish educational literature

• To organize innovative programmes for the propagation and dissemination for new trends
and approaches related to education.

• To organize science fairs

5.3.1 Functions

Of all the functions of GCERT that are relevant to PTTC education are mentioned below:

• To undertake, assist, promote and co-ordinate researches in all branches of education

• To organize in-service and pre-service training programmes for primary and secondary
teachers mainly at advance level.

• To exercise academic and administrative control over DIETs, CTEs and IASEs.

• To exercise academic control over PTC institutions and primary schools affiliated to
District Education Committees.

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• To conduct research, innovations and experiments in the field of primary education.

• To develop and disseminate, improved educational techniques and practices in schools.

• To undertake the preparation and publication of reference material, supplementary


materials, periodicals and other literature as may be necessary for furtherance of its
objectives.

• To improve, revise and upgrade the curriculum of training colleges with the changing
times.

GCERT provides academic and technical support for improvement of school education through
its constituents. Teachers education is one of the ten departments of GCERT. This department
looks after the training and research based needs of PTTC.

5.4 District Institute of Education Research and Training (DIET)

This is the nodal agency in field of education at the district level. Pursuant to the provisions of
National Policy on Education (NPE) on teacher education, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of
Restructuring and reorganization of Teacher Education was approved in October 1987. One of
the five components of the Scheme was establishment of DIETs. There are seven departments in
DIET. All DIET has one PTTC running under its direct control. DIET is the monitoring body at
the district level. It inspects the working of the PTTC within the district where it is situated. It
also conducts several training programmes for the in service lecturers of the other PTTCs.

5.5 Directorate of Primary Education (DPE)

This department of state government looks after the financial and administrative work related to
primary education. It grants no objection certificate to PTTC for increase in number of teaching
or non-teaching staff. The centralised admission for admission too PTTC is handled by this
department. Grants for government-aided colleges are routed through this department.

6.0 DETAILS OF STRUCTURE

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The survey of PTTC across Gujarat, gives a glimpse of the course design of the primary
education, admission process, infrastructure, financial resources, academic administration and
management, autonomy, recruitment process and motivational level of teachers as well as
trainees. The success of any educational system depends largely on the quality of teachers that in
turn is heavily dependent upon all the above-enumerated factors. In the light of the analysis of
the qualitative data of the survey, Pratham with a cautiously and consciously designed model of
structure, may move a step further in establishing its own PTTC. The details of various aspects
of structure of PTTC in Gujarat as found in survey has been discussed below.

6.1 Administrative Structure

We have discussed here administrative structure under trust owned PTTC.

6.1.1 For trust managed college (Government aided and self financed)

The management of trust forms the governing body. It appoints the principal with permission
from the DPE. The principle runs the administration of the college. There are teaching and non-
teaching staff below him.

The administrative structure has been shown in figure in next page.

TRUST

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PRINCIPAL

TEACHING NON-TEACHING
STAFF STAFF

Figure No: 3 Administrative structure of trust owned PTTC

6.2 Financial Resources

Tuition fees, hostel fees and the grant from the government form the major part of the
financial resources for the PTTC in Gujarat. At times they also receive donations from
generous donors too.

For government aided colleges government grants salary of all teaching and
non-teaching staff. To meet the contingency expenses government grants thirty
percent of the grant for the salary.

The fee structure of PTTCs all over the state comprises of the college fees and the hostel
fees. The college fees of the government colleges and the government-aided colleges are the
same. There is difference in tuition fee for the self-financed colleges. As per the norms hostel
fee for all the three kinds of colleges across the state is the same. However there were
differences in the hostel fee pattern across types of colleges.

6.2.1 College Fee

Here we have discussed the college fee structure across different types of colleges.

6.2.1.1 Self-financed Colleges

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The annual college fee from the students is taken under different heads in two installments as
follows:

Table No. 1 Tuition fee structure for self-financed college

Details First installment (Rs.) Second installment (Rs.) Total (Rs)


Admission fee 500 ---------- 500
Tuition fee 7,500 7,500 15,000
Term fee 500 500 1,000
Library fee 500 500 1,000
Laboratory 1,000 1,000 2,000
fee/computer fee
Total 10,000 9,500 19,500

But, as per the notice, from this year the annual college fee will be Rs 17,000/- and this will be
collected in two equal installments of Rs 8,500/- each. To the date of the study it is not clear as to
under which head the fee has been reduced.

6.2.1.2 Government and government aided colleges

The college fee structure in government and government-aided colleges is as follows

Table No. 2 Fee structure for government and government-aided college

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Details Amount (Rs.) (Annual)
Admission fee 30
Tuition fee 400
Library fee 20
The fee is taken
Tem fee 20
yearly during
Laboratory/Computer 20
admission along
fee
with the hostel fee.
Total 490
But girls are not
charged any tuition fee in both kinds of the colleges in the state.

6.2.2 Hostel Fee

The annual hostel fee structure is almost uniform across all the colleges in the state. There is only
one difference that in the case of government colleges caution money is not charged. Thus the
total annual hostel fee in the case of government college is Rs. 10,500/-

Table No.3 Hostel fee structure

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Details First Installment (Rs.) Second Installment (Rs.) Total (Rs)
Boarding 3,500 3,500 7,000
Electricity 500 500 1,000
Room 1,000 1,000 2,000
Caution Money 1,000 --------- 1,000
Teaching Material 500 --------- 500
Total 6,500 5,000 11,500

Apart from the above-mentioned college fee and hostel fee, examination fee and registration
fee are charged during the filling up the forms for examination conducted by the
State Examination Board. Students also bear the expenses of Shaikshanik-Pravaas of 7 days
that they are supposed to under go as per the course design. All the PTTC have their
own uniforms the cost of which falls upon students individually.

In our study we found that although the government fixes the maximum limit of the hostel fee
there is ample scope of taking liberty in charging it by colleges. The colleges charge higher
boarding fee giving the logic of dearness and providing good quality of foods. In many of the
government colleges, students themselves manage mess. In that case, as per the students’
opinion, expenses come down. But, in the case of the self-financed and the government-aided
colleges the management of the mess is totally in the hands of the governance body of the
college that comprises of the trust and the principal. It was found that 30 percent colleges were
charging higher hostel fee from the students over and above the prescribed fees. Despite this we
found that about 62 percent students across all the colleges were unsatisfied with the quality of
foods.

6.3 Recruitment of Staff

There are two kinds of staff in the college’s namely teaching and non-teaching staff. Teaching
staff comprise of the principal, senior teachers (pay scale wise), junior teachers better known as

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assistant teachers and the crafts teacher while clerk, laboratory assistant, librarian, peon,
watchman and gardener etc are part of non-teaching staff. The process of recruitment slightly
differs in each kind of colleges.

For the recruitment of teaching staff in private colleges, persons having 55% marks in
M.A./M.Sc.with M.Ed. as essential degree are interviewed by the panel consisting of trust or
management’s representative (being either the chairman or the secretary or the director), the
principal of the college, the government representative, (being generally DEO), the DIET’s
principal and the expert of the subject for which the recruitment is being done. In the same way,
non-teaching staff with qualifications as per the requirement of the post, stipulated by the
government, is recruited with a deviation of subject expert optionally not being on the panel. The
whole process begins with the advertisement appearing in the print media. For the post of
principal everything being the same as for teachers, at least 5 years of teaching experience is
essentially required.

In the case of government-aided colleges the same procedure stands to be followed with some
minor departures. The colleges need to get non-objection certificate (NOC) from the government
first to maintain the teacher and student ratio of 1:20 and then they get into the process. This
apart, the selected person is then recommended to Directorate of Primary Education (DPE),
Gandhinagar through DEO. Once the college gets approval it appoints the recommended person
on the post for which she / he was interviewed.

In government colleges there is the centralised recruitment of staff at state level for the teaching
as well as non-teaching staff. Generally any class one officer of the state public service is
appointed as the principal of the college. A senior teacher having the required qualification and
experience can also become the principal. But this rarely happens. Unlike the government-aided
colleges the teaching and non-teaching staff is transferable. The retirement age of the staff in all
the colleges is 58 years.

6.4 Salary Structure

A. For Government owned colleges

Table No.4 Salary structure for government owned college

Type of staff Class Post Pay-scale

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Teaching Staff I Principal 8,000-275-14000 or

10,000-275-15,000
II Senior Lecturers 6500-200-10,500
III Junior Lecturers 5500-175-9,000
Non-teaching II Head Clerk (Accounts) 5,000-150-8,000
Staff III Librarian 4,000-100-6,000
III Junior Clerk 3050-75-3950-80-4590
III Laboratory Assistant 3050-75-3950-80-4590
III Computer Operator (typist) 3050-75-3950-80-4590

7 types of staff have been approved by DIET in their colleges. In government colleges the same
number of staff may be there depending upon their need. Junior lecturer can become senior
lecturer or may be promoted in immediate upper grade pay- scale only after completion of at
least 9 years of service. Again senior lecturers will get their next promotion of pay scale after
completion of at least 20 years of service. At the post of senior lecturer, the Gujarat Public
Service Commission (GPSC) also does direct recruitment. Employees may get promotion by
clearing departmental examination conducted so far by GPSC and this year henceforth by Sardar
Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA).

B. For Government aided Colleges

Table No.5 Salary structure of government-aided colleges

Type of Staff Class Post Pay-scale

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Teaching Staff II Principal 6500-200-10,500
III Assistant Teacher 5000-150-8,000
III Craft-Teacher 4,000-100-6,000

( TLM, Udyog)
Non-teaching Staff III Senior Clerk 4,000-100-6,000
III Junior Clerk 3050-75-3650-80-4590
III Laboratory Assistant 3050-75-3650-80-4590
IV Peon/Watchman 2550-55-3200

Assistant Teacher gets the gradation of class-II only after the completion of 20 years of service.
This up gradation of pay scale is done time to time after 9 years, 20 years and 31 years of
service.

6.4.1 Other Facilities

For Government-owned and government-aided colleges

The employees of both types of colleges get Dearness Allowances as per announced by the state
government abased on consumer price index from time to time .The House Rent Allowances
(HRA) is dependent upon the type of cities categorized by the government as B1, B and C.
Accordingly, employees of the government and government-aided colleges get 30%, 15%, and
7.5% respectively of their basic pay. Apart from this all the employees get a fixed medical
allowance of Rs 100 per month and can avail of 10 days of leave on medical grounds. This apart
all the fourth grade employees get fixed amount of Rs 2467 as bonus as per the announcement
made by the government time to time. Others are not getting any kind of bonus for the last 3
years.

For Private colleges

The indicative salary structure, as per the government norms, in the self-financed PTC

colleges across Gujarat was uniformly found to be as follows-

Table No.6 Salary structure for self financed colleges

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Type of staff Class Post Pay-scale
I Principal 6,500-200-10,500
III Full time teacher 5,500-175-9,000
Teaching
III Accountant 5,000-150-8,000
III Junior Clerk 3,050-75-4,590
Non-teaching
III Peon 2,550-55-2,660-60-3,200

However when talked to teachers informally we found that they are paid lesser than the amount
mentioned above. Other facilities given to the employees differ from college to college. Only in
some colleges DA and HRA though not as per government announcement based on consumer
price index while in others nothing other than mere salary is given. But every private college was
found to have been giving uniforms to peon and other such fourth grade employees.

6.5 Admission

Anyone who is the resident of Gujarat and passed the HSC with at least 45% marks from either
the recognized examination board of Gujarat or from CBSE or from ICSE and whose age is not
more than 24 years as per the date mentioned in the application form can apply for the
admission. Students of other state educational boards cannot apply.

The admission process is completely centralized at the state level, which begins with getting the
applications from all over the state in the month of June of the respective year. On the basis of
marks obtained in 12th class students are called for counseling where she/he is given the choice of
selecting college of her/his preference depending upon the availability of seats. This process last
till all the seats of accredited colleges get filled. The admission list is then sent to the respective
colleges. Unless there is some special provisions (as for example, in Surat’s DIET’s PTTC five
seats are for Union Territory of Daman and Diu and in many colleges more than one language
are the medium of instruction), the average intake of the college across all types of colleges is
fifty.

Out of the given intake of 50 students it is the norm that at least 30% students must come from
science stream. Seats are also reserved category wise as per the government rules as follows:

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Table No.7 Seat reservation for SC, ST, and SEBC candidates

Category Reservation
(in percent)
Scheduled Caste (SC) 7
Scheduled Tribe (ST) 14
Social and Economic 27
Backward Class (SEBC)

Apart from this, some seats are also reserved for the widow, the ex-army men, and the
handicapped. But the actual number of such students in any particular college depends upon the
availability of eligible and desirable students. From this year onwards 10% seats are being
reserved for the management quota in the private colleges.

In the study we found that no teaching aptitude test of students is taken as a result of which it
becomes difficult for instructors to inculcate the teaching skills in them. Due to it many students
despite having good marks in 12th standard fail to come up to the expectation as per the
requirement of being a primary teacher. Teachers (or instructors) of colleges say that the mark of
the minimum qualification does not signify students’ teaching ability. We found that 45%
students and 72.5% teachers were of the opinion that there should be an aptitude test for
admitting students to pursue the course. Similarly it was found that the whole process of
admission takes too much time (about 3 months) due to which the session gets late and teachers
had to rush to finish the syllabus of the course within the given time period. Suggesting as a
solution to this problem about 32% students and 56% teachers told that there should be
centralized entrance test and on the basis of marks obtained in this test combined with the score
of aptitude test admission of students should be taken. The college should also be given due say
in the process.

6.6 Autonomy

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None of the three kinds of college have autonomy in charging fee. The curriculum for the course
is also defined and revised by the GCERT. The college doesn’t play any role in it. The
mechanism of the system is such that students’ viewpoints regarding the course design and the
curriculum are not taken into consideration at any level. There is no such study done as to what
are the reaction of the students regarding the curriculum which leaves the authority at the higher
level unaware of the students’ acceptance level of the course. Even at the college level they
(colleges) cannot take any such decision that doesn’t align with the guidelines outlined by the
GCERT designed syllabus. The self-financed and the government-aided colleges have to
get ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) from DPE in the recruitment of the staff so that the
teacher: student ratio of 1:20 could be maintained. In their interview panel also it is mandatory to
be the representatives of the government and DIET. The recruitment in the government colleges
is fully done by the government. Therefore the private and government-aided colleges have only
the partial autonomy in recruitment. However in dealing with day-to-day affairs, including the
academic administration, college-administration like handling the classes etc. and maintenance
of the colleges, they have full autonomy. Decisions regarding extra-curricular activities, which
are linked with studies and which in some way or the other help in improving the condition of
teaching, can also be taken at the college level.

6.7 Infrastructure

Before a college gets the accreditation there are certain requirements that it has to fulfill. The
requirements have been discussed on page number 14 under heading infrastructure facilities. The
NCTE does the inspection and reviews the existing structure of PTTC.

6.8 Course Design

This is a two year course .The course is divided mainly in two parts i.e. theory and practical.
Apart from that trainees are also given training to develop Teaching Learning Materials (TLM),

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which is basically tools with the help of which a teacher in the school can teach lessons better.
Computer education, Kala Shikshan evam Sharirik Shikshan (Art Learning and Physical
Learning), and Samuh Jeevan (Community Life) are also part of the course.

A) Theory: In this part of the course trainees are taught the course books of standard one to
standard seven under content and methodology.

I) Content: In content part of the course, trainees are taught contents of different subjects up to
the 7th standard that they have to teach in the classes once they pass out. In the first year of the
course, trainees are taught all subjects from standard one to standard four. In the second year,
they are taught subjects from standard five to seven.

II) Methodology: How different subjects be taught in the class that students learn the
most forms the content of the methodology. This equips trainees with array of methods
of teaching, which they use as per the need of the subject comfortably. In theoretical part of
the Primary teacher-education trainees have to study 9 subjects in the first year and 11
subjects in the second year. The division of marks between contents and methodology
in Mathematics, Gujarati and Science is 60:40 while in English, Hindi, Environment, Social
Science and Sanskrit it is 50:50. Thus a little bit more emphasis is given on content rather than
methods. In other words knowledge is given due weight age.

B) Practical or Skill Development

To enhance the teaching skills like motivational skills, presentation and communication skill,
questioning skill, classroom management, evaluative skill etc.some simulation techniques are
used. These are role playing, drama, symposium, group discussion and micro-teaching .In the
curriculum, lecture methods (how to teach/instructions/methods of teaching),self-learning
(giving home-work/asking in the class) and Pravas-paryatan of at least one week in a year that is
compulsory, are also included. Though PTC colleges are expected to incorporate all the above-
mentioned things in their teaching activities, barring microteaching technique all others are used
as per their will. Microteaching is the most commonly used technique.

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Micro-teaching is a scaled down teaching act in which the complexities of the real class-room
situation is reduced to minimum and the level of feedback enhanced to the maximum. The
teaching act is scaled down in terms of time (3-5 minutes) and in terms size of the class (7-8
students) and in terms of task. Trainers themselves and/or teachers choose the lesson or the
task. In a micro-lesson a trainer attempts to learn only one skill at a time through a
micro-teaching section. It focuses on training for accomplishment of specific tasks. These tasks
may be instructional skills, practice of teaching techniques, demonstration of teaching methods
and mastery of certain curricular materials, etc. Micro-teaching allows for increased control of
practice. In the practice setting of micro-teaching the rituals of time, students, methods of
feedback and supervision, etc., can be manipulated.

Each year every student is necessarily required to give 20 lessons in total in different subjects in
a school. Trainees are in the role of teachers. Trainees themselves choose the topic of the subject.
But the number of classes for each of the subject is fixed.

Similarly under Satat Shikshan Karya (Continuous Learning) students have to live 8 days in
villages and to do all the necessary works of a teacher that he/she is supposed to do in the school
right from class handling to managing the academic administration. They also spread awareness
among villagers on different social issues like literacy, women education, AIDS, etc. From this
year onwards in place of Satat Shikshan there will be internship of 15 days in each year of the
course. To the date of the study nothing concrete was clear as to what will be the works and
responsibilities of students during their stay in the villages. But; teachers opine that it will be
more or less the same.

In Samuh Jeevan trainees are trained to be sensitized towards the needs of the society. They are
also trained how to attain excellence in education and develop civilized behavior patterns among
students through prayer conference, physical labor and cleanliness, cooperation, social service,
punctuality and regularity. For the purpose of all-round development of the personality trainees
are imparted the education of music, and physical training, both theory and practical.

6.9 Evaluation

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Trainees’ learning is measured at regular interval by the college. They take internal examinations
at the end of 4 months or 6 months as decided by the individual college in the case of the
government-aided and the self-financed colleges. In the case of the government colleges,
terminal examinations are held at the end of 6 months. The State Examination Board (SEB)
conducts annual examination for all the students across the types of colleges. All the colleges
hold one examination just before the annual examination (pre-annual) so that students could get
feedback regarding their learnings. Those students who do not score well in this pre-annual test
are taken special care of .In the annual test all the components of the course are tested. In
practical, Karya Shikshan, Satat Shikshan and Jeevan Samuh tests are conducted time to time at
the college level. The marks obtained in these tests are added in the marks of the annual test of
such activities. If any student fails in the annual examination he/she appears in the same
examination in the following year.

6.10 Performance review

I) The principal of the college looks at staff Teachers ‘as well as non-teachers’
performance. The main purpose of the appraisal is improvement in teaching quality.
Teachers get feedback about their performances in the classes through the principal who
takes written and/or oral feedback from students. Different colleges have their own
mechanism of getting feedback from the students. In many colleges it was found that
principal organize discussions with students time to time. The positive feedback helps
teacher in promotion though it is time bound. In the study we found that 87.5% students
don’t know as to what feedback is and what role they play in it. On the contrary 80%
teachers and non-teachers were aware that the principal maintains that the confidential
service record. Based on it they believe that there is feedback system in the college
through which the principal gets information regarding their performance and behavior.

II) College: Colleges performance is looked at by DIET and DEO. The report of the review is then
sent to the DPE. Colleges’ performance is defined in terms of annual results, following norms of
NCTE, academic, curricular and non-curricular activities etc. Such type of review is generally
done annually. If any college is found not following the norms it has to bear the consequences to
the extent of losing the accreditation.

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7.0 NON-AFFILIATED SELF-FINANCED COLLEGE

While doing the survey we came across a different category of college, which does not fit, into
any of the above mentioned category. This has been categorized as non-affiliated self financed
college. Here we have discussed about the structure and other aspects of the college.

7.1 Eklavya Foundation

Mr. Sunil Handa of Core Emballage (a pharmaceutical group based at Ahmedabad) established
Eklavya Education Foundation in the year 1996. The mission of the foundation is to
revolutionise school education in India through a professional, innovative and creative approach
and by working with others jointly to help create conditions that will attract the best minds to the
field of education.

7.1.1 Eklavya Institute Of Teachers Education (EITE)

Eklavya Education Foundation has set up Eklavya Institute of Teachers Education at


Ahmedabad. The institute has built up its good image with in short span of its functioning.

Affiliation

EITE initially started under affiliation from the government agencies. However it felt that with in
the limited autonomy under government regulations it would fail to achieve the mission for
which it was set up. So they left following the government regulations and became an
independent body imparting teachers education. The success of their efforts can be understood
from the fact that even though government does not recognize EITE it is successfully running its
programmes. The certificate that is given to graduating students bears the stamp of Eklavya
Foundation only. The institute is being run with high spirit and strong hand.

Courses offered

1. Post Graduate Diploma in Teachers Education

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This is a two-year full time programme, which equips participants with contents skills, teaching
techniques as well as theoretical base to start working effectively in a school from the day one.

Medium of instruction: English and Gujarati

Eligibility : Graduation in any discipline

Batch size : 25 to 30 students (Both medium included)

Internship : Two months

Fees : Rs. 18000/- per year

2. Post Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education

This is a one-year full time programme to train world class Kindergarten, Nursery and Pre school
teachers.

Medium of instruction: English

Eligibility : Graduation in any discipline

Internship : One month

Fees : Rs. 18000/- for the course.

3. Post Graduate Diploma in Excellence in Education

This is a six-month programme aimed at individuals interested in professional growth and


teachers who wish to upgrade their skills. The programme includes intensive practice teaching.

Medium of instruction: English

Eligibility : PTC/B.ED/ 2 years teaching experience

Internship : One month

Fee : Rs. 9000/-

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(Source: EITE admissions prospectus (2004))

Faculty

Lecturers in the EITE are academician and others from diverse background. Eklavya encourages
participation of persons from diverse background to join as lecturers in EITE. There are eight
regular faculties at present inclusive of the Principal. There are 15 visiting faculty which
compromises of distinguished personalities from different fields.

Facilities

EITE is located in the 27-acre campus along with Eklavya Foundation Schools. All necessary
infrastructure facilities are available in the campus. The facilities available include computers,
laboratories, library, transport, and TLM room.

Placements

Eklavya trained teachers get placed in some of the leading private schools in Ahmedabad and at
other places in India. The salary range in which they get placed is Rs 5000 to Rs 8000. The
continuous traineeship segment makes it convenient for both the participating school and the
trained teacher to get inducted in that school after completion of course.

8.0 SCOPE FOR PTTC TRAINED TEACHERS

As per a court order PTTC trained teachers are not directly appointed as teachers in government
run primary schools. After completion of two-year course trained students join as ‘Vidya
Sahayaks’ in government run primary school at scale of Rs 2500 per month. After 5 years if
services they join as a regular teacher in primary schools. Other demand centres of these trained
teachers are private schools, NGOs, schools run under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

8.1 Demand and supply of PTTC trained teachers

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As per the informations collected there is demand of about sixteen to eighteen thousand
primary school teachers in government run primary schools. Every year around six
thousand teachers retire from the services and thereby add to the existing demand pool.
The supply of PTTC trained teachers has now gone up to ten thousand teachers a year. In
the given scenario this supply demand gap will get filled in next three to four years. After
that there would be difficulty in getting government jobs for the PTTC trained students.
The demand from mushrooming private schools has been ignored here because they do
not form the choice for which there is rush in joining PTTC.

9.0 SCOPE FOR PRATHAM

Based on the survey here we have evaluated the scope for Pratham in starting a PTTC of its own.

9.1 Criterion

Pratham has following two criterions that should be fulfilled if it starts its own PTTC.

1.Teaching technique of Pratham could be taught to the students.

2.The proposed college should be located in least served district of Gujarat

9.2 Scope under scenario one

Scenario One: The level of demand and supply remains at the same present level. (As
discussed under 8.1)

Based on the survey and understanding the purpose of Pratham we could observe following:

• Starting up a new PTTC does not make good sense considering the fact that already too many
colleges exists. Added to it the fact that the demand of PTTC trained for primary schools will
fall once the present gap is filled. This will result in lesser students getting into PTTC
colleges. Rather the expectation is that few newly opened unaided colleges have to shut

35
down in years to come. Under the given circumstances starting a new PTTC, which will take
another, one or two year is not appreciable.

• Gujarat Council Of Education Research and Training designs the content or curriculum to be
covered in these colleges. The curriculum is to be strictly followed by the PTTC. There are
regular training sessions for the lecturers of the PTTC in District Institute of Educational
Research and Training (DIET) and GCERT. They are supposed to follow the techniques
explained to them during the training sessions. In the given situation it would be difficult for
Pratham to introduce its technique. If it happens the very purpose of setting up PTTC will be
defeated.

Recommendation: Pratham should not start its own PTTC.

9.3 Scope under scenario two

Demand for PTTC trained teachers rise as a result of increase in number of private primary
schools in Gujarat. (Refer to MTS report of Deepak Dogra and Abhishek Garg of PRM 23,
Institute of Rural Management, Anand).

Pratham can start up its own PTTC. But starting a new PTTC should fit into the pre mentioned
two criterions of Pratham i.e.

1. In the PTTC that Pratham starts there should be complete scope for Pratham to implement its
reading techniques.

2. The PTTC should be located in the least served district of Gujarat.

Given the fact that there is no autonomy for colleges in course design and its implementation it
will be not possible for Pratham to fulfill its first criterion. Under this circumstance Pratham
should start its PTTC without attempting to get accreditation from any government agency. It
should continue to have confidence in effectiveness of its reading technique.

However running a non-affiliated college causes difficulty at the time of placement of the trained
teachers from such college. Those teachers who are trained at non-affiliated college are not
eligible to make application for job of ‘Vidya Sahayak’ in government run primary schools. It

36
closes the career avenues in government run primary schools. There is a huge rush into PTTC
only because of high surety of getting job in government run primary schools. But once this
opportunity is denied there will be apprehension in the minds of all prospective candidates. They
may not at all show willingness to join such non-affilitaed colleges.

However, with the increase in number of private schools the scope of trained teachers has
expanded beyond the realms of government run schools. Pratham should target these upcoming
primary schools as the demand centre for the trained teachers from its PTTC. By doing so
Pratham will satisfy the first criterion of starting its PTTC where it will be able to implement its
reading techniques.

Regarding the second criterion of starting a PTTC in least served district of Gujarat it would be
advisable for Pratham to start PTTC in Kutch district of Gujarat. At present Kutch has just four
PTTC despite its large population size. Of these four PTTCs two fall under unaided category. Of
the rest two one is government aided and another is government owned. Two of these PTTC are
for male students. One is for female students and the last one falls under co-ed category. The
distribution of these colleges is quite uneven. One is located at district headquarter Bhuj. Two are
located near Gandhidham Township and the last one is located at Mundra. This way entire
western and northern part of Kutch does not have any PTTC.

Under these circumstances it would be better if Pratham starts its PTTC in either western or
northern part of Kutch district. Kutch is also considered to be backward district of Gujarat.

9.4 Scope under scenario three

Pratham start its chain of primary schools in Gujarat. These schools act as the demand centre for
Pratham PTTC trained teachers.

Pratham can start its own PTTC. Here again the proposal should fit into the pre mentioned two
criterions i.e.

1. In the PTTC that Pratham starts there should be complete scope for Pratham to implement its
reading techniques.

2. The PTTC should be located in the least served district of Gujarat.

37
Again as has been explained under scenario two Pratham would be required to start its own
PTTC. In order to fulfill the above-mentioned two criterions the college need not be affiliated to
any government body. The college should also be located in the least served district of Kutch. In
order that most of the teachers trained in Pratham’s PTTC serve within the Kutch district
Pratham should start opening its primary schools in good numbers across Kutch.This way it will
be able to serve the purpose and their action will gel with the ‘universalisation’ approach of
Pratham.

9.5 Category under which Pratham should start its PTTC.

Considering the literacy level of male and female in Kutch; there is a need of improvement for
both male and female. Although the number of PTTC for male is lesser than the number of PTTC
for female there is need to further strengthen the cause of female literacy and involvement in
works like teaching. So instead of staring PTTC for either male or female Pratham should
establish a Co Ed PTTC. This will aid in raising awareness between both male and female. By
giving opportunity to female candidates Pratham will contribute towards the silent movement
wherein it is so said that by educating a male only one person benefits but by educating a
female two families benefit. This also gels with the idea of the founder members that Pratham is
a woman’s organization and that in future it can address women related issues. By allowing for
male Pratham will be able to deploy them to tougher locations.

10.0 CONCLUSION

Government is pulling its hands from building up good infrastructure for running PTTC.
Considering the huge demand for trained teachers permission to run such colleges has been
granted to private trusts. Based on survey we can say that most of these colleges that have come
up in last three – four years are being run with the sole motive of making profit. In the process
the quality of teachers that will be produced from these colleges will be much below the desired
level.

Considering the above-mentioned circumstances it was an appreciative step of Pratham to start


its PTTC. However Pratham needs to weigh its potential in terms of financial and other resources
before going for setting up its PTTC. I f it is not financially viable to run a college the way

38
Pratham wants to run then it can instead associate with the existing colleges and inculcate some
of the things that it wanted to do in its own PTTC.

References:

1. Website of Gujarat Council of Educational research and Training. (www.gcert.org)

2. Web site of National Council of Teachers Education ( www.ncte.org)

3. Web site of Pratham Gujarat (www.prathamguj.org)

4. Web site of Directorate of Primary Education (www.gujarateducation.gswan.gov.in)

5. Prospectus cum admission form (2004), Central Admissions committee, Directorate of


Primary Education, Government of Gujarat.

6. Prospectus cum admissions form (2004), Eklavya Institute of Teachers Education,


Ahmedabad.

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