Overview

The shortage of teachers has been identified as a crucial factor in the success of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in India (Education for All). With the growing emphasis on quality education and the Universalisation of Secondary Education (Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan-RMSA) foreseen as a priority after 2015, the need to address a wide range of teacher-related issues is a pressing priority. The National Curriculum Framework (2005) and the Right to Education act (RTE) that came into force in April 2010, has furthermore emphasized the need to address both the qualitative as well as quantitative aspects of the teacher deficit.

In keeping with this background, the fourth international policy dialogue forum on Teacher Challenges for EFA in India, co-organized by the Task Force and the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, will focus on the five following areas

• Continuing professional development for teachers in India;
• Decentralization: challenges and steps forward;
• Feminization of the teaching force;
• Public-private partnerships to address the teacher gap;
• Monitoring & Evaluation of teacher policy reforms.

The objective of the conference is to deliberate over the five aforementioned areas and the issues that fall under their premise with a view to generate recommendations that could inform future policy decisions at the central and state level in India.

The conference also creates an opportunity for sharing policy-related experiences with other member countries of the International Task Force on Teachers for EFA thus promoting North-South and South-South cooperation.