What is the NISHTHA Scheme And How It Is Empowering Teachers?

India has one of the biggest education systems in the world, and along with a huge number of students, we also have a large number of teachers across all the states. As important as education is, ensuring that education and learning are implemented correctly and effectively is equally necessary; for that, we need competent teachers. Despite the many teachers, what our country unfortunately lacks is skilled and aptly trained teachers. One of the reasons for this is the lack of enough resources and teachers’ training programs to help our educators educate better.

Good thing that the government of India launched NISHTHA.

What Is the NISHTHA Scheme?

The National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) is a capability-building programme for teachers in our country. This programme aims to improve the capability of elementary school teachers and principals. The target of the NISHTHA online training program is to train as many as 42 lakh teachers under this Scheme with activity-based modules, interactive training sessions, quizzes, online monitoring, continuous feedback, and impact analysis.

• It was launched by the Ministry of Education in 2019 as a centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha.
• NISHTHA is implemented across the country in all states and union territories.
• The purpose of NISHTHA is to enhance education in elementary schools by providing appropriate training to teachers on various topics, including child development, ICT, and pedagogy.
• More than 5 million teachers have been trained so far under the program.
• It is a successful program and has been effective.

Objectives Of The NISHTHA Scheme

The primary purpose of the NISHTHA Scheme is to motivate teachers and enable them to teach better so that they can equip the students with critical-thinking skills. The following are the objectives of the NISHTHA Scheme:

• To empower teachers with better learning modules based on activities, motivational interaction, and use of technology.
• Ensure that the implementation of the Scheme is a collaborative effort at all levels and departments.
• Use technology, including AI, in teaching to improve educational methods and outcomes.
• Provide teachers with creative tools and motivate them to use Art as a pedagogical tool.
• Develop student-centered teaching methods that will help teachers teach individual students according to their needs and learning capacity.
• Put more importance on learning skills, practical knowledge, and competency-based learning and testing.
• Improve the social-personal skills of teachers, enabling them to handle students with more patience and understand their needs.
• Promote a healthy and safe school environment where students can learn freely and safely.
• Ensure that all schools provide inclusive education, with a focus on the health and well-being of all children irrespective of their background, ability, or skill.
• Create awareness of New Educational Initiatives for teachers and administrators amongst all educators.

Why is the NISHTHA Scheme needed?

India has one of the largest numbers of educators in the world, and NISHTHA aims to enhance the skills of around 42 lakh teachers at elementary-level schools. This is a very large number, and such initiatives are required to ensure that our students are getting the best possible education and impactful learning, which is based on critical thinking and skills building and not mugging. The Scheme also covers teachers from State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) and District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs).

All educators participating in NISHTHA will receive training to improve their skills and awareness in multiple aspects of education, including:

• Learning Outcomes: This will help teachers understand what students gain from the educational process, how they learn, and the most effective teaching methods. As a result, students will learn better, and knowledge will be transferred effectively.
• Competency-Based Learning and Testing: When the focus is on improving skills and practical knowledge, students are bound to have a more effective education. Teachers will also be motivated to assess students on their abilities and skills rather than using traditional methods such as rotting and mugging.
• Learner-centered Pedagogy: Teachers will be trained to teach in a way that is most effective for the students and to use teaching methods that are centred around them. This will help create a more engaging and effective learning experience for the students.
• ICT in Teaching Learning: Teachers will be taught to integrate technology, including AI and IFT Panels, into their teachings for a better learning experience and outcome.

Implementation Of the NISHTHA Scheme

Implementing a Scheme of this magnitude across a big country like ours is a big task, but the Government is doing its best to ensure a smooth and effective implementation process.

• All the States and Union Territories have identified a few Key Resource Persons (KRPs) and State Resource Persons (SRPs) who will conduct the training.
• The above-identified individuals will be trained by National Resource Persons selected from various sources, such as the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), etc.
• Thereafter, the States and UTs can take inspiration from the training modules, use it to make their own materials and use their trainers to train the teachers.
• The program aims to have activity-based modules, an online monitoring and support system, regular feedback, and pre- and post-training impact analysis.
• All these steps will help to implement the NISHTHA Scheme effectively across India.

Expected Outcome Of The NISHTHA Scheme

Some of the expected outcomes of the NISHTHA Scheme are:

• Teachers will receive first-level counsellors training to equip them to handle elementary students’ social, emotional, and psychological needs.
• Making the learning environment and experience better for students.
• Improve the skills and learning outcomes of all students.
• When teachers use innovative teaching methods, students’ creativity improves.
• Better personal and social skills amongst all students as they will receive proper teaching from their teachers.

Conclusion

Initiatives like the NISHTHA Scheme are an excellent way of empowering our teachers and enabling them to teach better. This scheme will help teachers improve their skills in various areas, such as using AI (artificial intelligence), competency-based teaching methods, student-centred methods, inclusive and just education, building a safe environment in schools, etc.

The NISHTHA Scheme also benefits the students, as they get to learn from better-abled and skilled educators who focus on ensuring that the students learn and retain everything.

Last Updated on January 20, 2025