Tata Institute and UNESCO address challenges in 'teaching' with State Of the Education report in Mumbai

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in collaboration with its research partner, the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai launched the Marathi language summary version of the 2021 State of the Education Report (SOER) for India.

The State of the Education Report (SOER) for India, which is the annual flagship report of UNESCO New Delhi, is based on extensive research of national and international priorities in the field of education.

The theme of teachers, teaching, and teacher education was focused upon in this third edition of the State of Education Report. The report also underscores that the work of teaching is complex and attempts to give an understanding of key aspects of the teaching profession, while also providing a profile of the 9.6 million teaching workforce, as well as the challenges of their intricate routine and their professional development.

“With the recently-launched 2020 National Education Policy and the COVID-19 pandemic forming its crucial context, this report aims to highlight progress and achievements made in India, as well as the continuing challenges faced by the country, by showcasing promising practices and outlining possible directions for future growth,” said Eric Falt, UNESCO New Delhi Director.

Prof. Shalini Bharat, Director of TISS, said, “The pandemic has shown us the importance of the teachers and the need to support them to adapt and respond to challenges. Investing in teachers is the best preparation for the future.”

The UNESCO State of the Education report for India also aims to serve as a reference for enhancing the implementation of the NEP and towards the realisation of the SDG4 target 4c on teachers.

The report also looks at teachers’ experience with ICT and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the teaching profession. The report suggests that most teachers were found to have positive attitudes and beliefs about integrating technology in education and the new teaching and learning techniques. They have also expressed the need to have requisite support in this regard, according to SOER.

The report further lays out a set of ten action-oriented recommendations to address the challenges facing the teaching profession in India, which aims to help achieve the NEP 2020 vision and objective of “Ensuring a quality education for all in the country”.

Improving terms of employment in public and private schools, increasing the number of teachers and improving working conditions in North-Eastern states, rural areas, and 'aspirational districts', recognising teachers as frontline workers, increasing the number of physical education, music, art, vocational education, early childhood and special education teachers, building career pathways for teachers, Restructuring pre-service professional development and strengthen curricular and pedagogical reform, supporting communities of practice, providing teachers with meaningful ICT training, and developing teaching governance through consultative processes, based on mutual accountability are the ten recommendations suggested by the Report.

An expert team of researchers in the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, under the guidance of the UNESCO Office in New Delhi, has worked on creating the State of the Education Report in India.