TISS launches Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education

The centre that claims to be a first-of-its-kind centre in the country aims to bring about a holistic transformation in teacher education in India.  

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) with the Tata Trusts as founding partner have launched the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education (CETE). 

The CETE, claims to be the first-of-its-kind centre in the country, aims to become a catalyst for transformation in one of the most neglected areas of education in the country: teacher development, and will work across five key areas to build upon CETE’s vision:

• Academic Programmes (long and short-term professional development courses).
• Research (field action research, design lab, chair programmes and academic publications).
• System Strengthening (government system of education at state, district and sub-district levels).
• Technology-enabled programmes (connected learning initiative, integrated technology in education, development of open educational resources, community of practice).
• Evidence-based policy advocacy (round tables, conferences, policy briefs, research, communication campaigns).  

CETE has received a small seed support from the Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching. With Tata Trusts as the founding partner, it is CETE’s mission to revitalise teacher education. The focus on teachers and their professional development has grown and the emphasis is now on research, relevant academic short-term and long-term programmes, policy advocacy, partnerships and collaborations and large scale field action projects in ed tech, all to be exercised and achieved through the launch of the new Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education (CETE) led by Padma Sarangapani.  

Sarangapani at CETE, TISS, said “The NEP has placed teachers at the centre of the transformation envisioned for the sector. This makes the mission of the CETE timely and significant. Synergising quality improvement of teacher education, developing professional development linked career pathways for teachers, and advocating to improve their service and employment conditions are key areas of focus. Our strengths lie in our multidisciplinary expert team, high quality research, field based action and advocacy, and our national and international collaborations and partnerships.”  

Some of CETE’s recent work includes No Teacher No Class – State of the Education Report for India 2021, which emphasised the complex nature of teaching and teacher education. The report, authored by the strong academic team of the CETE at TISS, was released by UNESCO. Apart from offering quality academic and pedagogic resources for teacher educators and teachers in India, the centre has ongoing projects within South Asia and Africa. 

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