26-Jul-2021: India Signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for US$ 201.50 Million for “Third Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP III)”

Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) phase-III, initiated by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India with assistance from the World Bank to improve the quality of engineering education since 1st April 2017, is going to conclude on 30th September 2021.

A token amount of Rs. 10 crore has been provided for “Multidisciplinary Education Research Improvement in Technical Education (MERITE)” in the recent budget 2021-22 to start preparatory works.

The Government of India has been making continuous efforts to ensure that the focus State Governments prepare a sustainability plan for the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP-III), so as to avoid any academic standstill beyond the project period i.e. 30thSeptember 2021. Ministry of Education has written to the Chief Secretaries of Focus States requesting to plan for continuation of activities undertaken during TEQIP-III, for maintaining the quality of technical education.

2-Feb-2017: India Signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for US$ 201.50 Million for “Third Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP III)”

A Financing Agreement for IDA credit of US$201.50 million (equivalent) for the “Third Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP III)” was signed with the World Bank here yesterday. The Financing Agreement was signed by Mr. Raj Kumar (Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs) on behalf of Government of India and Mr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank.

The objective of the Program is to enhance quality and equity in participating Engineering Education Institutes and improve the efficiency of the Engineering Education System in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, 8 North Eastern States and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The Project has two main components, (i) Improving quality and equity in engineering institutes in those states; and (ii) System-level initiatives to strengthen sector governance and performance. The project has been designed as a disbursement linked one, that is, the World Bank loan will be disbursed on achievement of specific outcomes.

The closing date of TEQIP III is 31st March, 2022.

20-Jun-2021: Ministry of Tribal Affairs and NCERT  come together on a joint mission for NISHTHA Capacity Building Programme for EMRS Teachers and Principals

To fulfill the long-standing vision of Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) to achieve academic excellence in Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs), 120 EMRS teachers and principals from 3 states completed a 40 days’ NISHTHA-National initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement Program, a national flagship program of NCERT on 19th June 2021.  The capacity building program is  aimed to build competencies among teachers and school principals and Improving Quality of School Education through Integrated Teacher Training.  

MoTA has recently collaborated with National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which a national apex education body for several programmatic initiatives and interventions, for conducting such programs across  350 functional EMRS schools across the country.

This was the first batch of 120 EMRS teachers and principals from 3 states, namely Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The participants were capacitated on 18 holistic and comprehensive modules covering different aspects of education such as Learning Outcomes, Assessment Practices, learner-centered pedagogy, Art-Integrated Learning, Gender Equality, Covid Response of Schools, POCSO Act, Pedagogy of Science, Mathematics, Language, Social Science Subjects etc. The training was conducted in an online mode, adopting a blended approach.  While the course material, activities, projects were shared on NISHTHA online portal, the live-interactive sessions with esteemed faculty members from NCERT were held through VC platform. An amalgam of strategies were adopted by National Resource Group (NRG) members of NCERT using narratives, stories, quizzes, and puzzles etc. as part of the training methodologies. The training impact could be evidently deciphered from the participants’ feedback to rigorously plan more such in-service training programs in the times to come.

Minster of Tribal Affairs, Sh. Arjun Munda, congratulated the teachers and said that the NISHTHA Training program for EMRS teachers affirms the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) recommendation of “Providing In-service continuous professional development… as these will be strengthened and substantially expanded to meet the needs of enriched teaching-learning processes for quality education.”

Minister of State, Ms. Renuka Singh Saruta in her message applauded efforts of Ministry in collaborating with NCERT and devising a plan to build a pool of Key Resource Persons from amongst all the batches of NISHTHA programs to be conducted in the coming months. The internal EMRS resources of teachers and principals shall be the torch bearers for achieving academic excellence in EMRS school education.

NISHTHA Program is part of various Capacity Building Training programs undertaken By Ministry.  From 25th May to 5th June, 2021 a 10 days "Unbox Tinkering - ATL Teacher Training Program" was also organized in coordination with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, IBM and Learning Links foundation for 60 EMRS Heads, Teachers and ATL incharges from 12 States. During the program, there were series of discussion and simulation sessions which allowed open learning and exchange of ideas on wide ranging topics like computational thinking, Arduino Basics-Coding to Design Thinking etc.

18-Nov-2019: Ministry of HRD has launched NISHTHA Programme

The Department of School Education and Literacy has launched a National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the Elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA – National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha in 2019-20. The aim of this training is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students, handle diverse situations and act as first level counsellors.  They will be oriented on and develop their skills on various aspects related to Learning Outcomes, Competency Based Learning and Testing, Learner-centered Pedagogy, School Safety and Security, Personal-social qualities, Inclusive Education, ICT in teaching-learning including Artificial Intelligence, Health and well-being including yoga, Initiatives in School Education including library, eco club, youth club, kitchen garden, School Leadership qualities, Environmental Concerns, Pre-school, Pre-vocational Education and School Based Assessment in a joyful learning manner.

This integrated programme will cover around 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of Schools at the elementary level in all Government schools, faculty members of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) as well as officials and Resource Persons from Block Resource Centres (BRCs) and Cluster Resource Centres (CRCs) in all States and UTs.

National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has been notified as an Academic Authority under Section 23(1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 to lay down the minimum qualifications required for a person to be appointed as a teacher. Accordingly the NCTE has notified the minimum qualifications vide notification dated 25th August, 2010 as amended from time to time.

This massive capacity building programme has been integrated with technology to ensure smooth facilitation, availability of digital content and technology enabled teaching methods to support the teachers. A Mobile App and Learning Management System (LMS) have been developed by NCERT (https://nishtha.ncert.gov.in/). LMS is being used for registration of Resource Persons and Teachers, dissemination of resources, training gap and impact analysis, monitoring, mentoring and measuring the progress online.

21-Aug-2019: Union HRD Minister launches NISHTHA to build capacities of 42 Lakh government teachers across the country

Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the National Mission to improve Learning Outcomes at the Elementary level- NISHTHA, National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement in New Delhi. During the programme, NISHTHA Website, Training Modules, Primer Booklet and a Mobile App were also launched by the Minister.

This is the  largest teachers’ training programme of its kind in the world. Giving further details, the Minister said that the basic objective of this massive training programme ‘NISHTHA’ is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students. Teachers will get awareness and develop their skills on various aspects related to Learning Outcomes, Competency Based Learning and Testing, Learner-centered Pedagogy, School Safety and Security, Personal-social qualities, Inclusive Education, ICT in teaching-learning including Artificial Intelligence, Health and well-being including yoga, Initiatives in School Education including library, eco club, youth club, kitchen garden, School Leadership qualities, Environmental Concerns, Pre-school, Pre-vocational Education and School Based Assessment in a joyful learning manner.

The teachers are the powerhouse of the nation and they must be of the highest quality, the Minister elaborated. He further said that it is the Prime Minister’s dream that the quality of our teachers should be such that they should command worldwide respect.

This training programme has been included as one of the two transformative ideas from this Department for the 100 days programme of the Government. This integrated programme aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of Schools at the elementary level in all Government schools, faculty members of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) as well as Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators in all States and UTs.

The initiative is first of its kind wherein standardized training modules are developed at national level for all States and UTs. However, States and UTs can contextualize the training modules and use their own material and resource persons also, keeping in view the core topics and expected outcomes of NISHTHA.

The Minister informed that the training will be conducted directly by 33120 Key Resource Persons (KRPs) and State Resource Persons (SRP) identified by the State and UTs, who will in turn be trained by 120 National Resource Persons identified from National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Non-Government Organisations.

It was observed that the expectation from teachers in the present day is different and includes many new attributes. Teachers today are also expected to be aware of the provisions regarding Gender, The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The integrated programme therefore seeks to train all heads and teachers as first level counsellors to be alert and responsive to the needs of the students, in addition to promoting joyful learning and taking special care of the requirements of special children.

The prominent features of this integrated programme are activity based modules including educational games and quizzes, Social-emotional learning, motivational interactions, team building, preparation for school based assessment, in-built continuous feedback mechanism, online monitoring and support system, training need and impact analysis (Pre and Post training).

In order to enhance professional development of teachers, special emphasis has been given on design and development of training modules. The training Modules for NISHTHA have been developed through a consultative process involving the suggestions from the States and UTs and CBSE, KVS, NVS, School Principals and Non-Governmental Organizations, such as Kaivalya Foundation, Tata Trust, Azim Premji Foundation and Aurobindo Society.

This mega capacity building programme has been integrated with technology to ensure smooth facilitation, availability of digital content and technology enabled teaching methods to support the teachers. A Mobile App and Learning Management System (LMS) based on MOODLE (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) have been developed by NCERT (https://nishtha.ncert.gov.in/). LMS will be used for registration of Resource Persons and Teachers, dissemination of resources, training gap and impact analysis, monitoring, mentoring and measuring the progress online.

In order to ensure sustainable impact on classroom transactions, this integrated training programme is embedded with post training interventions including provision of mentoring. After the completion of KRP training, National Resource Persons will regularly be in touch with KRPs through WhatsApp/Facebook groups etc. and will form Quality Circles that will work to share ideas, challenges and their solutions and best practices. This will help in building pedagogical skills and connecting with peers, thereby leading to improvement in learning outcomes of the students.