Union HRD Ministry launches Prashikshak, an online teacher education portal

The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has launched ‘Prashikshak’- an online teacher education portal for District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs).
The Prashikshak portal was launched by the Union HRD minister Smriti Irani in New Delhi.  It seeks to strengthen DIETs and bring quality teachers into the school education system.
Key Facts

• The portal has been developed by the Union HRD ministry in collaboration with the Central Square Foundation, a policy think tank focused on improving quality of school education.
• It is an open online platform for collecting and reporting data from all DIETs which will help in the establishment of a strong monitoring mechanism.
• Prashikshak users will comprise pre-service teacher educators, DIET faculty and principals, policy makers at district, state and national level and the general public.
• The portal will strengthen the teacher education system in four ways (i) It will equip government officials with data for decision making, (ii) empower aspiring teachers (iii) Support innovation in teachers’ education and (iv) Increase transparency.
• It will help DIETs to make informed decisions about their institutes and compare the performance of their institute against other DIETs by facilitating online reporting of data.
• It will provide insightful analysis to strengthen the teacher education scheme in the country and allow states to spot areas where resources can be targeted.

 District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs)
DIETs were formed under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Teacher Education (CSSTE). They offer pre-service and in-service teacher training programmes for Government elementary school teachers.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2016