Census work hits training programme for teachers

The proposed training programme for teachers under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheduled to begin later this month will be postponed on account of census-related work.

The proposed training programme for teachers under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheduled to begin later this month will be postponed on account of census-related work.

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The SSA is the Central government’s programme for the universalisation of elementary education.

“There will be no training now because of census-related training and work during that period,” said Nand Kumar, state project director of the SSA. “We will have to reschedule and

see when we can now hold the sessions.”

Teachers from government-aided schools are recruited for data collection for the census.

Last month, the census commissioner issued a circular to the government asking it not to hold any exams till Class 10 from January 2011 to mid-March as some teachers would be away for census work during that period.

The 45-day training programme will be rescheduled, though the new dates have not been decided yet.

The education department has designed eight modules for training teachers of classes 5 to 8 from government-aided schools. These include modules on designing and using teaching aids, songs, physical education, scholarship-related information, developing quality education and computer education for teachers. For the first time this year, teachers are also going to be trained on how to use the abacus in the classroom.

Two modules were already conducted a few months ago to update middle schoolteachers about the Right To Education Act.

Each of the modules will be spread over three to four days and held in different locations. In September, the government had conducted training for teachers of classes 9 and 10 under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, the central government scheme for universalisation of secondary education.