The Human Resource Development Centres operated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for teacher training and capacity enhancement will undergo a renaming. They will now be referred to as the Madan Mohan Malaviya Teachers’ Training Centres, Dharmendra Pradhan, education minister, announced. The UGC HRDCs are dedicated to serving teachers employed in non-technical Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country. These centres play a pivotal role in conducting Continuous Professional Development Programmes (CPDP) with a primary focus on faculty induction, pedagogical techniques, domain knowledge, and leadership development, according to an official statement.
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the Central Sector Scheme known as the “Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT). The Ministry of Education (MoE) has recently proposed a strengthened synergy and integration between HRDCs (Human Resource Development Centres) and PMMMNMTT centres, aligning with the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020. This approach aims to maximise the use of infrastructure, human resources, and financial investments while also rebranding and popularising the entire capacity-building initiative as the “Malaviya Mission (MM), the statement mentioned.
As part of the Malaviya Mission, a total of 110 institutions have been identified, consisting of 66 HRDCs and 44 PMMMNMTT centres. These institutions will now be referred to as “Malaviya Mission Centres,” consolidating their efforts to advance teacher training and development in accordance with the PMMMNMTT scheme and the broader goals of educational reform, it added.
Conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the “Malaviya Mission – Teacher Training Programme” is an initiative organised by the UGC with the objective of delivering customised training programs for educators. Dharmendra Pradhan underscored the importance of enhancing the educational quality at all levels by instilling excellence and high standards in our teachers and teaching methodologies. Discussing the diverse themes covered within the training programmes, Pradhan highlighted that these theme-oriented training sessions are designed to instill a sense of “Samagrata” or comprehensive development. He reiterated the significance of teachers adopting a lifelong learning approach, as it directly contributes to the holistic growth and development of their students, as per the statement.
The two-week online programme will concentrate on eight key themes to enhance the skills and knowledge of faculty members in higher education. These themes encompass topics such as holistic education, Indian knowledge systems, academic leadership, governance, research, skill development, diversity, inclusion and technology. “The teachers’ training programme shall help develop innovative teaching methods and high-level institutional facilities in all the constituent areas of higher education. It will also impart pedagogy-related training and improve the skills of the faculty members,” Jagadesh Kumar, chairman, UGC, said.
With inputs from PTI.