Teachers Capacity Development

Developing countries have recognized the importance of the availability and access of the education to all children; equally important is the quality in education. Most international agencies see quality in education as an important issue as follows:

‘Quality is at the heart of education, and what takes place in classrooms and other learning environments is fundamentally important to the future well-being of children…’ (UNESCO 2000, p.91).

Various agencies noted different aspects of education to improve the quality in education. UNESCO gives importance to the classroom process. The World Bank (2005) gives the importance to the availability of the material and infrastructure for the quality. The question is how the quality concern in itself changes the quality of education, if not understood in country specific context. It needs further explanation and its connection with various factors. However, all agencies and researchers have given equal importance to the teachers as a pivotal point for bringing the quailing in Education in Developing country.

To ensure improvement in school education needs to empower the change agents (Teacher). The Teacher is an important key agent in Developing countries like Nepal. Therefore, Nepal Government has started a certification program for teachers at District levels. Various kinds of training prescribed, changed, shows underlying assumption that there is something not good in the teachers capacity development that needs to be worked on. Thus requires a thorough understanding of teachers’ problem in their task -Teaching.

There are various reasons mentioned for poor situation. Teachings are focused mainly on transferring information, or sharing the meanings of words, without any discussion or critical thinking exercises. This shows teachers still believe in old paradigm of teaching where knowledge is something given and fixed cannot be questioned or argued; there is only one reality and one answer; what teachers says or written in textbook, like Religious book, is the only truth. This understanding and practices leads to the authoritarian attitude of teachers, which limits the teachers’ to go further, explore more in subject’s knowledge and self development. Thus, consequently limits the scope of learners’ development. There for it is quite important for a developing Nation to build its main change agents, teachers’ capacity for its economic and social development. Further, teachers capacity building is not solely depends upon the training programs or on the teachers own efforts, teachers needs some institutional support and facilities in order to perform well as well improving its own capacity. Therefore all theo matter of teachers capacity starts from the Teachers Development course like Pre-service Education Degree and keep going till whole of teachers journey, where this figures needs support in terms of honing its tools and understanding. There in-service teacher education program, various literature, workshops and seminars plays important roles. in education segments Capacity Building is itself a Mean to an End, end itself and process too.