What is National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST)?

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India is emerging as a technological powerhouse. The government, consumers, and businesses are causing paradigm shifts with new-age technologies, innovation, ideas, and intent.

These social, cultural, economic, and behavioral changes call for preparing our education system to fulfill the demands of the 21st century.

Teachers are an essential component for the desired education system reforms. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to address this situation to achieve the intended outcome of the policy.

NEP 2020 has emphasized empowering our teachers to implement reforms in the education sector. The National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) is the next step to attaining the NEP 2020 goals.

We will explain NPST and what our schools can expect from the same. We will also explain how to implement NPST for high-quality and effective teaching infrastructure in this article.

What is NPST?

The National Professional Standards for Teachers is a public statement comprising guidelines for effective and high-quality teaching. It will define teachers’ scope of work and required skills.

By properly implementing the NPST, our schools will get highly qualified and skilled teachers. These expert teachers will impart professional education to make our students capable of dealing with complex 21st-century challenges.

Through the teachers trained under the NPST, our students will learn better and perform with a deeper understanding. The objective of the NEP 2020 for NPST is to provide teachers for schools ready with 21st-century skills.

Teachers with professional and personal development will improve the overall education sector and enhance learning quality.

The NEP 2020 has assigned the Professional Standard Setting Body (PSSB) to prepare a draft of the NPST. The PSSB is the restructured form of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

Features of National Professional Standards for Teachers

PSSB, under the General Education Council (GEC), will form a draft of the NPST. The body submitted the first draft on 17th November 2021, which is now in the public domain.

The NPST is being prepared in consultation with

  • NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training)
  • SCERT (State Council of Educational Research and Training)
  • Expert educational institutions
  • The organization in Teacher Training and Development
  • Experienced teachers from different parts of India
  • Expert Institutions on Vocational Studies
  • Higher education institutions

We are sharing features according to the first draft of NPST and National Education Policy 2020 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

The NPST will comprise desired expectations from teachers for diverse levels/expertise. It will explain the required skill sets for a particular stage.

There will be periodic performance appraisals for every level. According to the NEP 2020, the NPST will be analyzed and revised nationwide in 2030.

The evaluation and revision will be done every ten years. There will be rigorous empirical analysis.

The NPST will help with the following:

  • Teacher career management
  • Efforts for professional development
  • Salary increment
  • Promotions
  • Teacher tenure for probationary and permanent teachers
  • Recognitions and rewards

The NPST will also prepare and notify the strategy of pre-service teacher education programmes.

States and union territories can utilize the NPST guidelines. Schools and educational institutions can implement the guidelines after that.

Fifty hours should be mandatorily dedicated annually to Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

CPD will cover the following:

  • Foundational numeracy and literacy
  • Formative and adaptive evaluation of learning outcomes
  • Personalized and ability-focused learning
  • Experiential learning
  • Innovative teaching approaches like sports-based, arts-integrated, story-based, etc.

Teacher career progression in NPST

The expected skills from teachers will be according to the new school education system levels mentioned in the NEP 2020.

The pedagogical structure in NEP 2020 is 5+3+3+4

New school education system as per NEP 2020

Education level

Age group

Grade Level

Foundational level

Age group 3 to 8 years (5 years)

Pre-school to Grade 2

Preparatory level

Age group 8 to 11 years (3 years)

Grade 3 to 5

Middle level

Age group 11 to 14 (3 years)

Grade 6 to 8

Secondary level

Age group 14 to 18 (4 years)

Grade 9 to 12

Teachers’ career development will depend upon their individual level quality of teaching, skills, and overall teaching.

Four career stages in NPST document

  • Pragammi Shikshak (Beginner teacher)
  • Praveen Shikshak (Proficient teacher)
  • Kushal Shikshak (Expert teacher)

Pramukh Shikshak (Lead teacher)

Standards and areas of NPST

Here is the list of four interrelated aspects of teachers’ work with their domains. NEP 2020 has mentioned these areas as ‘Standards’.

1) Core values and ethics

  • Constitutional values
  • Professional ethics and values
  • Commitment to students
  • Professional relationships
  • Commitment to profession
  • Responsible and ethical use of the application

2) Professional knowledge and understanding

  • Knowledge and understanding of the subject area
  • Factors that affect student learning
  • Pedagogical knowledge
  • Curriculum structure
  • Technology use and integration in education

3) Professional competence and practice

  • Learning plans
  • Lesson delivery
  • Classroom components and dynamics
  • Effective classroom communications
  • Assessment of, for, and as learning

4) Professional development and growth

  • Professional development
  • Reflection
  • Learning needs
  • Engagement and participation in the learning community

What can schools expect from NPST?

  • Schools will get trained and motivated teachers.
  • Subject experts for all classes/grades/levels
  • Professionals selected as per set standards of NPST, made by leading educational bodies
  • Improved learning for students and better performance
  • Holistic growth and development of school students

Schools can avail faster end-to-end learning and teaching solutions at platforms like Teachmint.

Conclusion

The objective of NPST is to achieve the vision of NEP 2020. It contains four standards for lifelong teaching career evolution.

NPST covers phases from trainee to professional lead teacher. It also includes performance evaluation, salary, and required skill sets.

The NPST is a boon for schools. It could bring a revolutionary change in the education system.

It will prepare teachers to teach 21st-century skills to students.