Dipen Dixit
Can you tell me what a teacher is? The teacher is the one who not only teaches but also works to awaken the inner strength of the child!
What does it take to become a teacher?
First of all, this is a career in which only those individuals should consider who have interest and faith in the education system. The teacher is the cornerstone of society. A teacher should be able to grasp the subject, understand the needs of the child and implement the teaching method accordingly and the teacher should not only teach but also create an environment where the children can learn on their own. In addition to this there should be many qualities in the teacher. Of course, apart from the ideals and values of the teacher, educational qualifications are also required.
Opportunities for career as a Primary Teacher:
The literacy rate of the state of Gujarat is approximately 82%, which means that some sections of our population are still illiterate. There are about 20,000 villages in the state and about 57% of the population of Gujarat lives in rural areas. Not all villages have primary schools yet, if there is a school there are not enough classrooms and if there are classrooms there are not enough teachers.
There is a huge opportunity to become a teacher in primary school, as every village has one primary school and if the village is big enough then there are two primary schools so the government has to recruit teachers. According to a recent Divya Bhaskar newspaper report, there is a shortage of approximately 14,000 primary teachers in the state of Gujarat, so I believe there is a great opportunity (especially for young women) to plan a career in this field.
So let’s take a look at the opportunities available in the field of Primary School Education:
Educational Qualification: Primary school has two sections. Standard 1 to 5 is referred to as Primary section and Standard 6 to 8 is referred to as Higher Primary section.
Primary Section: To become a teacher in Primary Department, one has to complete D.El.Ed. (Diploma in Elementary Education) after standard 12. D.El.Ed. was earlier called P.T.C. (Primary Teacher Course). This is a two year course. After doing this course, one has to pass T.E.T. (Teacher Eligibility Test) examination. After passing this exam, a Merit list is made by calculating the scores of T.E.T. and D.El.Ed. When the recruitment of Vidya Sahayak in the Primary department starts, anyone can apply and become a teacher in the Primary section.
Higher Primary Department: In Higher Primary Department, recruitment of teachers is done according to these subjects and Language teachers, Social Science teachers and Mathematics Science teachers are recruited.
For language teacher, a candidate needs to have passed B.A. in Gujarati, Hindi, Sanskrit or English language plus B.Ed. (Bachelor in Education) or alternatively, B.A. in Gujarati, Hindi, Sanskrit, or English plus P.T.C. (now called D.El.Ed.). In addition to above candidate also needs to pass the T.E.T. exam. After passing these exams, when the recruitment of language comes up in the Higher Primary department, one can apply based on respective language. A Merit list is made by calculating the scores of B.A., B.Ed. and T.E.T., after adding an extra 5% for candidates who have completed the Master’s degree.
For Social Science teacher, a candidate needs to have passed B.A., B.Ed. in History, Geography, Sociology, Political Science or Economics or must have passed B.A. in History, Geography, Sociology, Political Science or Economics and P.T.C. (now called D.El.Ed.). In addition to above candidate also needs to pass the T.E.T. exam. After passing, when the recruitment of social science comes up in the Higher primary department, one can apply for the vacancies of social science. A Merit list is made by calculating the scores of B.A., B.Ed. and T.E.T., after adding an extra 5% for candidates who have completed the Master’s degree.
For Mathematics-Science teacher, a candidate needs to have passed B.Sc. with Mathematics-Science subject plus B.Ed. or must have passed B.Sc. and P.T.C. (now called D.El.Ed.). After passing, when the recruitment of social science comes up in the Higher primary department, one can apply for the vacancies of Mathematics or Science. A Merit list is made by calculating the scores of B.Sc., B.Ed. and T.E.T., after adding an extra 5% for candidates who have completed the Master’s degree.
Eligibility to be a Principal (HTAT): There is an apt saying for a Principal, which is “Achre te Acharya” (Principal is the one who follows Principles). A principal needs to have experience in school management, administrative skills, ability to take everyone along and the ability to tap skills of each teacher in the interest of the school. A key quality of a principal of the school should be that he or she needs to be a visionary.
H.T.A.T. (Head Teacher Aptitude Test) consists of two parts, in which questions related to knowledge, logic, history and geography and administrative questions are asked while in the other part general questions from Std. 1 to 10 textbooks are asked.
In addition to the educational qualification, a teacher who has 5 years of experience and who has passed H.T.A.T. (Head Teacher Aptitude Test) can become Primary school Principal. Recruitment is done in 2 ways: direct recruitment and promotion. For direct recruitment a merit list is made on the basis of the marks of Graduation, Post-graduation and H.T.A.T. For Promotion, selection is done based on H.T.A.T. exam scores and length of service (years).
I have given here information about the opportunities available in the field of primary school education and what needs to be done to become a teacher or principal (H.T.A.T.). In addition, if you need any further information, you can contact me at the following number and mail address.
My Introduction: My name is Dipen B. Dixit and I am son of Bhavanishankar J. Dixit and Asha ben Dixit. I live in Bhavnagar and I have been working in the field of primary school education for the last 17 years. Having worked as a primary school teacher for 10 years, now for 7 years I am working as a principal (H.T.A.T.) in Shri Kantala Primary School, Tal.: Ghogha, Dist.: Bhavnagar.
E-mail address: dipen.dixit1984@gmail.com
