I need all of you to contribute in this blog
Topic is
Which are the real challenges affecting the schools where Teach For India Fellows will teach?Assume a municipal school. Why do the students in these schools do not perform well academically?
My 2 points are
Recruiting and retaining quality teachers
Since the salaries paid to the teachers in the Government and low-income private schools are not at par with the other schools, skilled teachers are bound to quit their jobs. Hence Government and low-income schools cannot recruit and retain quality teachers. Shortage of skilled teachers culminates into a lack of proper motivation for the students, which results into a lack of interest among students. Families of the students attending Government or low-income private schools are already under an extreme economic crunch. Dipping interest-levels among students and severe economic problems prevent students from achieving academically.
Providing appropriate pre-service and in-service training to the recruited teachers
In a bid to churn out teachers in large numbers, hardly any attention is being paid to their qualification. The people who do get recruited are not given appropriate training. Only about 30 percent of the teachers are getting in-service training. Due to the lack of proper training, teachers are found wanting in areas like classroom management, course-design and setting realisitic goals for children. This prevents students from achieving academically.
