Our Correspondent
Kohima | August 10
The State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT) proposes to conduct a survey on the status of educational dropouts in Nagaland. This proposal was among the many new programmes of the SCERT sought to be undertaken during 2009-2010. During the said period the current short-term training in all curricular subject areas including Hindi will continue for in-service pre-primary and primary schools teachers, according to the annual administrative report of the SCERT.
The SCERT plans to devise textbooks for classes V to VIII in all subjects including Hindi. Presently, the SCERT has devised textbooks up to class IV. It also plans to organize a seminar-workshop on the improvement of science and mathematics education in Nagaland. The report stated that the department will continue to conduct ongoing teachers’ training programmes to orient them in counseling students and providing career guidance services.
Also, with the view to improve the standard of science and mathematics education in the state, the SCERT proposes to introduce a certificate-diploma course in science and mathematics to equip teachers to handle the two subjects more effectively. Also, it that fine arts have been a major co-curricular subject, but any serious attempt has yet to be made to train teachers in it. Therefore, the report said, it proposes to organize a workshop for existing fine arts teachers and also set up a separate cell in the department for the promotion of both visual and performing arts and the other, music, during 2009. The SCERT further proposes to set up a fully-equipped educational technology studio to develop and produce educational audio-visual programmes based on school syllabi in order to bring life to education.
“The DIETs will continue with the existing activities of conducting the one-year PSTE and 6 months CPTE courses in the districts,” the report said. It said the technology scheme (ICT) SCERT has covered 284 schools in the state during 2007-2008. During 2009-2010, the department proposes to upgrade the skills of computer teachers in order to facilitate promotion of multimedia educational materials’ use by students.
The report said the SCERT is the apex academic organization in the state and the main function of the department is to bring about qualitative changes in the school sector. It aims at improving competence of teachers, developing curriculum and textbooks in tune with the changing needs of the society; it carries out research and survey projects in order to formulate strategies for strengthening existing academic programmes in the state and to suggest initiatives for further improvement.
