Identify Major Problems Of Teacher Education In Pakistan Suggest Practical Measures For Improvement AIOU 8626
Problems and Issues of Teacher Education
Teacher education is an acute issue in both developed and developing countries. The type of teacher education offered and methods used do not help teachers to prepare students for the current challenges of the world. Pakistan as a developing country also has faced critical problems of education since its inception and therefore, the system of education failed to cover the challenges of a democratic society, which demands dynamism, creativity and broad mindedness in thought and behaviour of its people.
There are various factors responsible for this critical situation. Shortage of funds for teacher education, lack of quality pre-service and in-service trainings, scarcity of human and material resources, poor salaries and low status of the professionalism in teaching, and globalization are some of the main setbacks of teacher education.These problems are being vehemently highlighted in academic and educational seminars and conferences. Let us discuss some main problems and issues of teacher education.
- Allocation of Funds for Education
In Pakistan, the allocation of funds for education is very low as compared to neighbouring countries and it never went beyond 1.5 to 2.0 percent of the total GDP. In addition, the allocation of government funds is skewed towards higher education, thus ignoring technical and teacher education. That’s why the education system has failed to raise the nation economically, politically and socially.
In many sectors, the allotted budget was not completely and effectively utilized and had to be surrendered back to the government because of want of expertise and the knowledge of codal formalities and in time release of funds. It is the utmost need to increase it around 7% of the total GDPto take the nation out of the increasing economic, political and social quagmire and there is also a need to rationalize the share at the different levels of education.
- Government Training Institutes
In Pakistan, the administration of teacher training is a provincial responsibility. However, at the federal level, the curriculum wing is responsible for teacher education institutions. Government primary school teachers are trained through Government Colleges for Elementary Teachers (GCETs), the distance education program of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), and teacher training courses run in secondary schools known as Normal Schools or PTC units. Graduates receive the Primary Teaching Certificate (PTC) or Certificate in Teaching (CT) at the end of the course. Generally, in Pakistan, there is shortage of teacher training institutions and training facilities, particularly for female teachers in certain regions of Balochistan, Sindh and KP.
- Scarcity of Human and Material Resources
We all admit that the teachers are the most critical component of an education system. Their teaching depends on their motivation, qualification, experience, training, aptitude and a host of other factors, along with the environment and management structures of the organization. Unfortunately, the number and quality of these teachers is poor in Pakistan, which ultimately affects the overall education system.
Along with human resources, there is scarcity of material facilities in teacher education system. Issani and Virk (2004) describe that due to lack of adequate training facilities in institutions, the present position of teachers with proper professional competencies and training is alarming low.
- Poor Quality of Management
Education sector in Pakistan also suffers from poor quality of management, monitoring and supervision. Quality of teacher certification programs suffer from the lack of adequately trained master trainers, little emphasis on teaching practice and non-existence of a proper support/monitoring system for teachers. Due to the absence of any accredited body to certify teachers, the mere acquisition of a certificate/diploma in education is considered sufficient to apply for a teaching position.
The role of supervisors in the teacher training centres is very rare. Mostly, the supervisors do not provide proper guidance to its sub-ordinates trainees. This may be due to over-loaded work and insufficient facilities and incentives from the concerned departments/institutions.
- Training of Government Teachers
Training is essential for quality performance of a teacher. In Pakistan, in-service training of these teachers is the responsibility of the Curriculum Boards and Extension Centers. In provinces, GCETs provide these in-service trainings. The intention of these training institutions is to provide one in-service training program to each teacher at least once every five years. But, unfortunately we have reached an insignificant proportion of un-trained teachers. There are numbers of teachers who are at the end of their professional career and have not had any in-service training.
The courses in the teacher education intuitions are outdated and very traditional which is unable to enhance the teaching skills, motivation and quality of teachers.
- Lack of Potential and Competent Educators
In Pakistan, it’s our bad luck that teaching is rated as the lowest among the jobs by the youth, because of lesser incentives, slow promotions and lesser fringe benefits. Due to these factors, youth do not select teaching profession with zeal, vigor and ardent. The government teachers are not well groomed and equipped with knowledge and training.They join this profession by luck, not intentionally.
- Lack of Interpersonal and Counseling Skills
One of the issues of teacher education is the lack of teachers’ interpersonal and counseling skills which is helpful to fulfill the learning needs of pupils. Barrow et al. (2006) report reveals that the main challenges facing teacher education include meeting children’s specific learning needs, respecting students’ cultural and socio-economic context and involving parents and communities in school activities. These interpersonal and counseling skills are essential for intellectual, moral, spiritual and social development of students.
- Poor Evaluation and Assessment Criteria
Evaluation and assessment criteria is limited to satisfactory, unsatisfactory, good, very good or marks, percentage, grades, etc standards. All the aspects of teaching skills are not being seriously and effectively evaluated. Modern techniques are neither supplied nor applied in evaluation process. Duration of teaching practice is short and insufficient and it is not up to the international standard. It creates a big hurdle to produce quality performance of teachers.