Teacher Education: Theory and Practice in Bangladesh

Abstract

Overall development in all sectors of any country in the world mostly depends on the quality of education. Like many other countries, the Government of Bangladesh has brought different radical changes in the education sector. The education system of this country was inherited from the British. To bring qualitative and original changes in the education system, including Teacher Education, the Bangladesh government has unanimously taken many steps. The first significant one was to form the country’s first National Education Commission with a prominent educationist and scientist Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda as Chair. After the glorious independence of this country through the liberation war in 1971, the then government led by the Father of the Nation and the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman formed this commission on 26 July 1972. Based on the report of this commission, many changes in the education sector including teacher education had been made. The curricula, syllabuses, teaching approaches, and assessment procedures in teacher education were also reorganized and reformed during the last two decades. This paper aims to discuss the basic changes in teacher education for the secondary level and to review their practices. This paper also aims to identify the innovative aspects of teacher education system in Bangladesh.

Introduction

The Bangladesh is a densely populated and 8th largest country in the world in terms of population. The population of this country are 167.47 million (Statistical Pocketbook 2019, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics-BBS). And the population by area are rural 112.7 million and urban 44.1 million (Pocketbook 2015, BBS). The country becomes independent in 1971 through the heroic liberation war under the leadership of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The official name of this country is “The People’s Republic of Bangladesh”. The 26 March is its independence day, and the 16 December is the glorious victory day. The geographical location of this country is in South Asia between 20°34′ and 26° 38′ latitude and between 88° 01′ and 92° 41′ east longitude. The area of this country is 147,570 km². The literacy rate is 63.6%. The Dhaka is the capital city of the country.

Since gaining its independence in 1971, the country has continued its development efforts in various fields. As part of this, the country’s first Education Commission was formed on 26 July 1972 with a prominent educationist and scientist Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda as Chair. The Father of the Nation and the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman formed this commission on 26 July 1972. In the light of this commission, the National Education Policy was formulated in 2010. The government is continuing its efforts to create well-educated and patriotic good citizens and skilled manpower.

The Government of Bangladesh has identified skilled manpower as the main force to fulfil its commitment to change the day and turn Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021, and it will be possible through education. In order to enable people to cope with the social and economic realities of the time, it is essential to formulate curricula accordingly. Considering all these aspects, the qualitative change and refinement of the teacher education curriculum has become urgent as an important step in the implementation of the National Education Policy 2010 and the National Curriculum, 2012. The preface of the National Education Policy (2010) states “Education is the key to a nation’s development. Education is the principal means to achieve the goal of poverty alleviation. A properly educated nation, which is modern in genius and intellect and forward-looking in thinking, can only put the country at the zenith of its development. That’s why education is the backbone of a nation (p. 2)”.

Similarly, the policy recognized that “the proper dignity of teachers everywhere from the primary to the highest level is a very important factor. The status of teachers of all levels requires to be re-evaluated through in-depth examination since they are supposed to inspire the meritorious students to be interested in the teaching profession by discharging their proper duties. This is important because the teachers claim proper dignity and facilities for their jobs. At the same time, their rights are closely connected with their duties. Teachers must responsibly carry out their professional and other duties. All concerned should contribute to the development of educational standard and environment (National Education Policy, 2010, p. 67)”.

The overall development of any country depends on the educational circumstances of that country. The more modern and developed the education system of a country, the more developed the country is. To develop a modern and an advanced education system, modern curricula, syllabuses, adequate teaching equipment, trained and skilled teachers are importantly required. In order to take the country forward on the path of development by ensuring these elements, the teacher training system has to be modernized. It is possible to develop the general education system of a country through world-class teacher training system.

Almost in all countries of the world, the aims and objectives of education, the education systems, the curricula, and syllabuses are set out on their national educational goals. In this regard, the educational need of the people of the society, the national demands of respective countries, and the total economic growth are importantly considered to set up the national goals of education. The quality of education starts with the quality teacher, and the teachers must be trained up in terms of pedagogical point of views. To train up the teachers, teacher education for the respective level of education should be modernized. The teacher education curriculum, syllabuses, the assessment procedures should also be redesigned. Again, the policy noted that “qualified teachers are essential for proper and quality education. To ensure the quality of teachers, it is essential to recruit qualified teachers through scientific and transparent recruitment process on one hand, and on the other, quality teachers’ education and repetitive demand-driven training is imperative to develop the professional excellence of the teachers (National Education Policy, 2010, p. 64)”. The role of well-educated and trained teachers-society is very significant in the expansion of education and provision of excellence quality (Bangladesh National Education Commission Report, 1988).

In fact, building, appliances, and any such investment in the field of education will be of little value if appropriate measures are not taken for improving the standard of teachers (Bangladesh Education Commission Report, 1974, p. 76). It must be remembered that as the teacher is concerned with building the personality of the pupil, the former must not only acquire the required amount of knowledge but also a special ability in teaching in relation to the pupil's mental inclinations. Above all, the teacher must have all the appropriate personal qualities required to build up the pupils as responsible citizen of the country through the particular medium of his instruction (Bangladesh National Education Commission Report, 1988). The existing teachers’ training system of Bangladesh is very traditional, insufficient, certificate-based, loaded with theoretical knowledge, incomplete in practical learning, based on rote learning and conventional testing system. That is why the expected results cannot be achieved (The National Education Policy, 2010). So, there is no substitute for modern and quality teacher training to get the desired results in Teacher Education.

Background of the Teacher Education

The history of Teacher Education of Bangladesh describes that emphasis on teachers training was recommended in the Wood’s Dispatch of 1854. After receiving education in a normal school established on the basis of the recommendations of this report, if deemed fit, one would get a teaching certificate and become a school teacher at a higher salary. Wood’s Dispatch had suggested for making provision for training of teachers. But his suggestion was ignored. Trained teachers were not available for the secondary schools which were growing in number every year (Mukherjee, 1996, p. 111).

Teacher training received its due importance for the first time in the 1854-Wood's Dispatch the establishment of a normal school at Dhaka in 1857 was its direct outcome. Later in 1869 and in 1882, two more normal schools were set up in Cumilla and Rangpur, respectively. The normal schools at Cumilla was transferred to Chattagram in 1885, and in 1882, the Hunter Commission (Sir William Wilson Hunter was an Indian Civil Service officer and a member of the Executive Council of the then Viceroy Lord Ripon. Lord Ripon appointed the Indian Education Commission on 3rd February 1882, with Sir William Hunter as its Chairman. It is known as Hunter Commission of 1882, recommended a one-year training course for graduate teachers at secondary schools (Bangladesh Education Commission Report, 1974, p. 58).

Subsequently, a proposal was made to bring normal schools under the university by converting them into colleges. As a part of this plan, the Dhaka Teachers’ Training College established in 1909. After establishing the University of Dhaka in 1920, the Teachers’ Training College, Dhaka, was handed over under this university and introduced Bachelor of Teaching (BT). The Dhaka University used to award a Master of Teaching degree to the students who were successful in research. The 1917 Sadler (Sir Michael Ernest Sadler, the then Vice Chancellor, University of Leeds) Commission laid special stress on the university’s responsibility for the professional training and academic research of the secondary school teachers (Bangladesh Education Commission Report, 1974, p. 58).

When the government announced in 1916 that training for permanent employment of teachers was made compulsory, it became imperative to increase the number of Guru Training and Normal Schools. As a result, the government has set up one Guru Training School in each sub-division (the then, administrative area later it became the district) and the teaching period of these schools was one year for those with Central Vernacular Pass Certificate and 2 years for those without Certificate. Later, 2 years of training was conducted in normal schools established in Dhaka, Chittagong, and Rangpur in Bangladesh. They taught Bengali language, mathematics, history, geography, and drawing, teaching practice (TP), physical exercises, and various handicrafts. Successful students from these schools were awarded Middle Vernacular Teachers Certificates (Ullah, 1975, p. 106).

Up to 1956, the teachers who taught in classes VI to VIII—in secondary schools received their training in normal schools and the training was of one year’s duration. According to the recommendation of the 1952 East Bengal, Education Reconstruction Committee normal schools were designated as junior training colleges, although the duration of the course remained the same. Up to 1956, junior training colleges enjoyed autonomy, like Teachers’ Training Colleges, in matters of curriculum, examination, and evaluation, and the certificate given by them was called Higher Education Certificate. In 1967, the responsibility for taking the junior training college examination was transferred to the Education Board and the certificate was designated as Higher Secondary Education Certificate. As result, the junior training colleges lost their professional distinctiveness, more so as the evaluation of their pupils was now dependent completely on a public examination. It may be mentioned here that before the junior training colleges were brought under the academic control of the Education Boards, their course was a terminal one. On the other hand, the enrolment at these college was gradually reduced as the salary and other facilities of the teachers teaching in the lower classes of secondary schools were not attractive enough. The one advantage of junior training colleges coming under the academic control of the Education Boards was that the course becomes more popular as the successful candidates got the opportunity of being admitted to the first-degree course. Nevertheless, the desired objective was not realized as this change frustrated the aim of preparing qualified teachers for the lower classes of the secondary schools and encouraged the pupils to go in for higher education. The facilities of junior training colleges such as free tuition, scholarship, and hostel accommodation only whetted the appetite of the pupils, for higher education. It is needless to mention that the above-mentioned course included in the higher secondary educational group met the same fate outside the junior training colleges. From 1972, a three-year Bachelor-in-education course has been introduced in the junior college including Kabi Nazrul College at Dhaka re-designated as colleges of education. At present, the minimum educational qualification required for admission to these colleges is a second division in the Higher Secondary Certificate Examination. Apart from this, teachers for the secondary level are trained at the six teachers’ training colleges. The duration of the course at these colleges is 10 month and the eligibility for admission is a graduation degree (Bangladesh Education Commission Report, 1974, pp. 59–60).

Up to 1973, there were six Teachers’ Training Colleges and six College of Education for secondary level in Bangladesh which are shown in Table 7.1.

Table 7.1 Total enrolment and the number of teachers at different teacher training institutes in 1972–73

Due to the inadequacy of teachers’ training institutions, the then government first set up a primary training college in Mymensingh in 1948. In this training college, two courses called Diploma in Education and Higher Diploma in Education are introduced for a period of 1 year. The Teaching Methods of Child Psychology, Pedagogy, Bangla, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Science, Physical Education, Art, and Handicrafts were taught in the Diploma in- Education course. On the other hand, Higher Child Psychology, History of Education, Teacher-Teaching, Educational Administration, Test and Evaluation, and research-related education were taught in higher Diploma in Education Courses. Since the establishment of Dhaka Teachers’ Training College, this one training college has been responsible for the training of secondary school teachers in Bangladesh for a long time. Later, as the demand for teacher training increased tremendously, Mymensingh Primary Training College was transformed into a Secondary Teachers’ Training College in 1957. At the same time, the Diploma in Education and Higher Diploma in Education courses introduced in this Primary Training College were changed to BEd (Group-C) and MA in Education courses, respectively. After the establishment of the National University in 1992, the name of this MA in Education course was changed to M.Ed. Besides, another training college named Mymensingh Women Teachers’ Training College was established in 1952 (Ullah, 1975, p. 108).

The ten-month training course for graduate teacher at secondary schools was introduced in the sub-continent about a century ago. In the developed countries of the world, including England, a three-year training course simultaneously subject based and profession based has been current now for quite a few years. The main aim of this course is to enable to respective teachers to acquire professional knowledge and at the same time to get trained in two special schools subjects. Because of the longer duration of the course, the teachers not only acquire the desired competence as a result of their training but they also develop an attachment to their profession. For this purpose, the 1957 Education Commission had recommended the introduction of a three-year degree course in teacher training after an eleven-year secondary education system for teacher at the secondary level. From 1972, the five junior training colleges in the country have been transformed to Colleges of Education with provision for a three-year degree course in teacher training (Bangladesh Education Commission Report, 1974, pp. 65–66).

Up to the academic year of 2003–2004, the ten-month B.Ed. and M.Ed. courses were continued in different teachers’ training colleges. Subsequently, the duration of these courses was extended from 10 months to one year from the academic year 2004–2005. Since then, till now the one-year B.Ed. and M.Ed. program are running. The then introduced one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) course started with the 5 compulsory subjects, 10 elective subjects, and 7 optional subjects under the National University. Besides, four years Bachelor of Education (Honours) course is also running.

The Existing Teacher Education Program

Education has a crucial role in creating the elements of good citizenship and in generating progress in the society as a whole (Bangladesh Education Commission Report, 1974, p. 1). With due importance, a lot of emphasis has been placed on teachers training for the overall development of Bangladesh. Emphasis has been given on teachers training in the Qudrat-e-Khuda Education Commission and in the other education commissions. Apart from this, the importance of teachers training is to be noticed in various reports related to education and also in the National Education Policy 2010.

The National Education Policy 2010 describes the aims and objectives of teachers’ training as follows:

• “to help teachers acquire knowledge and skills in the strategies of teaching–learning through teachers’ education and training;

• to help teachers develop and update their professional knowledge;

• to develop the personality, innovative knowledge and qualities of leadership of the teachers;

• to introduce the teachers with the socio-economic conditions and immediate problems of the country and to help them to get involved in the issues concerned;

• to identify the behavioural strengths and weaknesses of the teachers and to find remedies;

• to encourage them to acquire efficiency to use the modern materials for teaching;

• to increase their efficiency in the strategies for new educational methods;

• to help grow professionalism in them to prepare research papers and report writing;

• to encourage them to teach students by creating equal opportunities for all, irrespective of religion, race and socio-economic conditions;

• to help them acquire efficiency in delivering education to the students of disadvantaged community and small ethnic groups and the disabled learners by sincerely responding to their special needs;

• to enrich their quality to analyse problems and to take decisions;

• to train teachers of all levels in information technology and to ensure wider use of IT to build up a modern and developed Bangladesh;

• to inspire them to be conscious of their duties and responsibilities;

• to encourage and make them confident to take part in research work”.

There are various types of training institutes in Bangladesh for conducting teacher training activities. For example, the government teachers’ training colleges for conducting long-term training such as four years Bachelor of Education (Hons), one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), one-year Master of Education (M.Ed) courses, besides 2 more Public Universities, 2 Institutes of Education and Research (IER) under the University of Dhaka and Rajshahi, 2 public universities are responsible for awarding Teacher Education program. At present, there are 14 government Teachers’ Training Colleges in the country. For the madrasa teachers training, there is a Bangladesh Madrasa Teachers’ Training Institute (MBTTI) under National University. These Teachers’ Training Colleges are operated under the control of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, the Ministry of Education. The overall responsibility of running the government Teachers’ Training Colleges is entrusted to the Ministry of Education. The Secondary and Higher Education Division is responsible for overseeing the recruitment through competitive examinations for these institutions, and for their promotion and transfer also. The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) under this division is responsible for overseeing the training activities. On the other hand, the National University is responsible for formulating teacher training courses and curricula, conducting and evaluating examinations, publishing results, issuing certificates, etc.

Following the establishment of Teachers’ Training College by the government for the training of secondary level teachers in the country, Teachers’ Training College, Dhaka, was established in 1909, Teachers’ Training College, Mymensingh, in 1948, Teachers’ Training College (Women), Mymensingh, in 1952, Teachers’ Training College, Rajshahi, in 1955, Teachers’ Training College, Cumilla, in 1962, Teachers’ Training College, Chattagram, in 1968, Teachers’ Training College, Khulna, in 1970, Teachers’ Training College, Rangpur, in 1976, Teachers’ Training College, Feni, also in 1976, Teachers’ Training College, Jessore, in 1978, Shaheed Abdur Rob Serniabat Teachers’ Training College, Barisal, in 1999, Teachers’ Training College, Pabna, in 2003, Teachers’ Training College, Sylhet, in 2005, Teachers’ Training College, Faridpur, in 2005. All these colleges run under the government control. Besides, there are 104 private teachers’ training colleges in Bangladesh. The number of teachers’ training colleges, teachers, and enrolment rate has been shown in Table 7.2.

Table 7.2 Number of teachers’ training college, teachers and enrolment in teacher education by type, gender and management 2019

The number of teacher education institution by type, gender, and management has been shown in Table 7.3.

Table 7.3 Number of teacher education institution by type, gender and management 2019

The number of teachers in teacher educational institutions by type, gender, and management has been shown in Table 7.4.

Table 7.4 Number of teachers in teacher educational institutions by type, gender and management 2019

The enrolment in teacher education institutions by type, gender, and management has been shown in Table 7.5.

Table 7.5 Enrolment in teacher educational institutions by type, gender, and management 2019

The number of teacher education institute by type and division has been shown in Table 7.6.

Table 7.6 Number of teacher education institute by type and division 2019

There are eight administrative division in Bangladesh. These are Dhaka, Barisal, Chattagram, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet, and Mymensingh. This table shows that the highest number of Teachers’ Training Colleges (29.41%) is in Dhaka and the lowest number (2.52%) is in Sylhet division.

According to the Education Development report (2009–2018), the government has taken various initiatives over the past decade to modernize the teacher training system in Bangladesh. These initiatives include:

• 1. Formulation of National Education Policy 2010.

• 2. Preparation of National Curriculum, 2012.

• 3. Recruitment of trained teachers with B.Ed. and MEd degrees for Government Teachers’ Training Colleges through competitive Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination.

• 4. To arrange advanced training abroad for the teachers working in the Government Teachers’ Training Colleges. This training includes eight weeks of customize training in developed countries.

• 5. Training on digital content and multimedia classrooms has been provided for teachers of Government Teachers’ Training College.

• 6. Implementation of ICT for pedagogy activities.

• 7. A content portal called “Teacher Window” has been created for sharing digital content developed by teachers with the help of A2I (Access to Information, a program under the Prime Minister’s Office, Government of Bangladesh) and the British Council.

• 8. Arrangements have been made to exchange all the information through online of 14 Government Teachers’ Training Colleges (TTCs) and 5 Higher Secondary Teachers’ Training Institutes (HSTTIs) and the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE). Apart from that, information on related issues is also provided through e-mail. Initiatives have been taken to ensure classroom and appropriate teaching–learning environment and high-speed Internet connectivity in all educational institutions.

• 9. To establish a Centre of Excellence in English at Dhaka Teachers’ Training College, in Mathematics at Rajshahi Teachers’ Training College and in Science at Sylhet Teachers’ Training College with maximum efficiency for teachers and students.

• 10. Under the Policy Guidelines of Secondary Teacher Competency Standard through TQI-2 (a project named Teaching Quality Improvement in Secondary Education Project-II under the Ministry of Education, Bangladesh), four areas have been identified for acquiring professional knowledge and skills of secondary level teachers. These are

  • (i) Professional Knowledge or Content Knowledge

  • (ii) Professional Practice or Pedagogical Practice Knowledge

  • (iii) ICT Integration in Teaching Profession or Use of Technology

  • (iv) Professional Learning Ethnics and Moral Values.

In these four areas, four types of teachers have been classified based on the knowledge and skills acquired. For example

(i) Beginning Teacher; (ii) Developing Teacher; (iii) Advanced Teacher; (iv) Expert Teacher.

By acquiring these skills, a teacher will change himself or herself from a beginning teacher to an expert teacher and the skills will be integrated with the Secondary Teacher Career Path.

Teacher Education Program in Details

There are different types of Teacher Education program running in Bangladesh. Under the National University, these programs are one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), four years Bachelor of Education (Honours), one-year Master of Education (M.Ed.), and under the Bangladesh Open University (BOU), one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) program, and one and half year Master of Education (M.Ed.) program through distance learning mode.

Bachelor of Education Program (One year)

The National University awards one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) program for those university graduates who are interested to be a secondary level teachers. But having Master’s degree with Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree, one can apply to be a teacher for the Teachers Training Colleges through competitive examination. But the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDEd) is also offered by the Institute of Education Research (IER), Rajshahi University, which is equivalent to the one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) program.

Bachelor of Education Curriculum Framework under National University

The existing one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) course is divided into two semesters. The first semester is scheduled from 1 January to 30 June, and the second semester is scheduled from 1 July to 31 December each year.

First Semester

There following four compulsory subjects are for first semester for 100 marks each.

• 1. Secondary Education

• 2. Teaching–Learning Skills and Strategies

• 3. Learning and Assessment

• 4. Information and Communication Technologies in Education.

But the teaching practice (TP) is for 50 marks assessed the trainee-teachers internally.

Teaching Practice (TP)-1

College-based demonstration teaching and school-based teaching practice (2+2) = 4 weeks.

Teaching Studies Subjects

Two teaching subjects must be chosen from any group. Each subject carries 100 marks.

Humanities group (any two should be chosen):

• 1. Teaching Bangla

• 2. Teaching English

• 3. Teaching the History of Bangladesh and the World Civilization

• 4. Teaching Civics and Nationality

• 5. Teaching Economics

• 6. Teaching Bangladesh and Global Studies

• 7. Teaching Geography and Environment

• 8. Teaching Advanced ICT.

Science Group (any two should be chosen):

• 1. Teaching Mathematics

• 2. Teaching Physics

• 3. Teaching Chemistry

• 4. Teaching Biology

• 5. Teaching Advanced ICT.

Business Studies Group (any two should be chosen):

• 1. Teaching Business Entrepreneurship

• 2. Teaching Accounting

• 3. Teaching Finance and Banking

• 4. Teaching Advanced ICT.

Second Semester

Compulsory subjects for 100 marks each.

• 1. Inclusive Education

• 2. Research in Education

Teaching Practice (TP)-2

School based teaching practice (4 + 4) = 8 weeks.

Elective/Optional Subjects

From the following list any one subject to be chosen for 100 marks each:

• 1. Primary Education

• 2. Teaching Library and Information Science

• 3. Teaching Arts and Crafts

• 4. Teaching Physical Education, Health Science and Sports

• 5. Teaching Islamic History

• 6. Teaching Agriculture Studies

• 7. Teaching Home Science

• 8. Teaching Islam and Moral Education

• 9. Teaching Hindu Religion and Moral Education

• 10. Teaching Buddhist Religion and Moral Education

• 11. Teaching Christ Religion and Moral Education.

Comprehensive Examination

• 1. Two hour long comprehensive examination on six compulsory subjects.

• 2. Viva Voce in presence of External and Internal Examiner

1 credit = 10 classes of 60 min/1 h. But 1 credit = 10 h should not be applicable. Marks distribution: Internal examination 40 and external examination 60. Total 100 marks. But 50 marks for TP 1 and TP 2 as internal and 50 marks for TP 2 final. 50 marks for viva voce.

Result/Grading system

Letter grade should be counted as the following grading system:

Marks range	Letter grade	Grade point
80% and above	A+	4.00
75–79%	A	3.75
70–74%	A−	3.50
65–69%	B+	3.25
60–64%	B	3.00
55–59%	B−	2.75
50–54%	C+	2.50
45–49%	C	2.25
40–44%	D	2.00
Below 40%	F	0.00

1. Convert grade into Grade Point Average (GPA) for determining Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)

Four Years Bachelor of Education (Honours) Program

In Bangladesh, the National University introduced the new curriculum of the course Bachelor of Education (Honours) in the year 2013. The first batch of this course started their new journey towards building career as the education professionals of the twenty-first century. The new curriculum is introduced with the great expectations of achieving output as described in the curriculum document. Since then this course has been implemented at the government Teachers’ Training College. The Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka and the Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Rajshahi also offer the 4 years integrated Bachelor of Education (Honours) program.

The Curriculum Structure of the 4 years integrated Bachelor of Education (Honours) Program

Earlier, it has been mentioned that the National University introduced the 4 years integrated Bachelor of Education (Honours) program in the year of 2013. This program is divided into eight semesters. Each semester consists six months duration.

First Year First Semester

In first year first semester, the following subjects are to be taught as compulsory by the students:

• 1. History of the Emergence of Independent Bangladesh

• 2. Bangla -1

• 3. English -1

• 4. Introduction to Education.

Each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits, and the total marks are 400.

First Year Second Semester

And in the same year, students should undertake compulsorily the following subjects during second semester:

• 1. Bangla-2

• 2. English-2

• 3. Education in Bangladesh

• 4. Foundations of Education.

Each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits, and the total marks are 400. In addition, during the second semester students are required to appear at the comprehensive viva voce (satisfactory/non-satisfactory).

Second Year Third Semester

In second year third semester, the following subjects are to be taught as compulsory by the students in which each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to four credits:

• 1. ICT in Education

• 2. Educational Psychology and Guidance.

In this semester, students choose three courses from any area of the following five areas as elective courses:

Area-I

• 1. Bangla Paper-I

• 2. English Paper-I

• 3. ICT Education Paper-I.

Area-II

• 1. Economics Paper-I

• 2. Political Science Paper-I

• 3. Sociology Paper-I

• 4. Geography and Environment Paper-I

• 5. History Paper-I or Islamic History and Culture Paper-I

• 6. ICT Education Paper-I.

Area-III

• 1. Physics Paper-I

• 2. Chemistry Paper-I

• 3. Geography and Environment Paper-I

• 4. Mathematics Paper-I

• 5. Botany Paper-I

• 6. Zoology Paper-I

• 7. Statistics Paper-I

• 8. ICT Education Paper-I.

Area-IV

• 1. Accounting Paper-I

• 2. Management Paper-I

• 3. Marketing Paper-I

• 4. Finance and Banking Paper-I

• 5. ICT Education Paper-I.

Area-V.

• 1. Information Science and Library Management Paper-I

• 2. Home Economics Paper-I

• 3. ICT Education Paper-I.

In these five areas, each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits.

Second Year Fourth Semester

In second year fourth semester, the following subjects are to be taught as compulsory by the students in which each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits:

• 1. Organization and Management of Educational Institutions

• 2. Gender Education

In this semester, students choose three courses from any area of the following five areas as elective courses:

Area-I

• 1. Bangla Paper-II

• 2. English Paper-II

• 3. ICT Education Paper-II.

Area-II

• 1. Economics Paper-II

• 2. Political Science Paper-II

• 3. Sociology Paper-II

• 4. Geography and Environment Paper-II

• 5. History Paper-II or Islamic History and Culture Paper-II

• 6. ICT Education Paper-II.

Area-III

• 1. Physics Paper-II

• 2. Chemistry Paper-II

• 3. Geography and Environment Paper-II

• 4. Mathematics Paper-II

• 5. Botany Paper-II

• 6. Zoology Paper-II

• 7. Statistics Paper-II

• 8. ICT Education Paper-II.

Area-IV

• 1. Accounting Paper-II

• 2. Management Paper-II

• 3. Marketing Paper-II

• 4. Finance and Banking Paper-II

• 5. ICT Education Paper-II.

Area-V

• 1. Information Science and Library Management Paper-II

• 2. Home Economics Paper-II

• 3. ICT Education Paper-II.

In these five areas, each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits. And, students will appear at the comprehensive viva voce (satisfactory/non-satisfactory).

Third Year Fifth Semester

In third year fifth semester, the following subjects are to be taught as compulsory by the students in which each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits:

• 1. Teaching–Learning Methods and Strategies

• 2. Assessment and Evaluation in Education

• 3. In this semester, students choose three courses from any area of the following five areas as elective courses:

Area-I

• 1. Bangla Paper-III

• 2. English Paper- III

• 3. ICT Education Paper-III.

Area-II

• 1. Economics Paper-III

• 2. Political Science Paper-III

• 3. Sociology Paper-III

• 4. Geography and Environment Paper-III

• 5. History Paper-III or Islamic History and Culture Paper-III

• 6. ICT Education Paper-III.

Area-III

• 1. Physics Paper-III

• 2. Chemistry Paper-III

• 3. Geography and Environment Paper-III

• 4. Mathematics Paper-III

• 5. Botany Paper-III

• 6. Zoology Paper-III

• 7. Statistics Paper-III

• 8. ICT Education Paper-III.

Area-IV

• 1. Accounting Paper-III

• 2. Management Paper-III

• 3. Marketing Paper-III

• 4. Finance and Banking Paper-III

• 5. ICT Education Paper-III.

Area-V

• 1. Information Science and Library Management Paper-III

• 2. Home Economics Paper-III

• 3. ICT Education Paper-III.

In these five areas, each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits.

Third Year Sixth Semester

In third year sixth semester, the following subjects are to be taught as compulsory by the students in which each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits:

• 1. Micro-Teaching and Simulation

• 2. Introduction to Curriculum

In this semester, students choose three courses from any area of the following five areas as elective courses:

Area-I

• 1. Bangla Paper-IV

• 2. English Paper- IV

• 3. ICT Education Paper-IV

Area-II

• 1. Economics Paper-IV

• 2. Political Science Paper-IV

• 3. Sociology Paper-IV

• 4. Geography and Environment Paper-IV

• 5. History Paper-IV or Islamic History and Culture Paper-IV

• 6. ICT Education Paper-IV.

Area-III

• 1. Physics Paper-IV

• 2. Chemistry Paper-IV

• 3. Geography and Environment Paper-IV

• 4. Mathematics Paper-IV

• 5. Botany Paper-IV

• 6. Zoology Paper-IV

• 7. Statistics Paper-IV

• 8. ICT Education Paper-IV.

Area-IV

• 1. Accounting Paper-IV

• 2. Management Paper-IV

• 3. Marketing Paper-IV

• 4. Finance and Banking Paper-IV

• 5. ICT Education Paper-IV.

Area-V

• 1. Information Science and Library Management Paper-IV

• 2. Home Economics Paper-IV

• 3. ICT Education Paper-IV.

In these five areas, each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits. And students will appear at the comprehensive viva voce (satisfactory/non-satisfactory).

Fourth Year Seventh Semester

The seventh semester is for teaching practice at the respective secondary schools assigned by the Teachers’ Training Colleges. This is practicum-based internship teaching. As stated in the syllabus “internship teaching is the culminating experience of the first-degree program in education. It provides the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge on pedagogies in the actual classroom settings and gain practical experience. The internees are exposed to an environment where they encounter learners for the first time and face them with multitude of ideas, approaches, techniques, and process. During the internship period, the internees will get ample opportunities to demonstrate the art of teaching in actual situation and participate in all activities at the school level. The duration of internship is one semester when the internees will perform their assigned responsibilities in schools under the direct management and control of the heads of the respective schools and under the supervision of two subject-supervisors and a school coordinator. The internees experience in school will include, among others teaching two subjects, observation of others lessons, organizing co-curricular activities, developing and administering tests, scoring answer scripts, statistical treatment and interpretation of test results and performing other responsibilities as assigned by the heads of the schools (Bachelor of Education-Honours Syllabus, NU)”. In this practicum, students are to be evaluated in five areas for 500 marks in which 100 marks for each of 4 credits and the total credit is 20.

Fourth Year Eighth Semester

In third year eighth semester, the following subjects are to be taught as compulsory by the students in which each subject carries 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits:

• 1. Introduction to Educational Research

• 2. Environment Education

• 3. Non-Formal and Continuing Education

• 4. Inclusive Education

• 5. Education and Development.

These five subjects carry 100 marks which is equivalent to 4 credits. And students will appear at the viva voce.

Evaluation Process

At the end of each semester, a written examination is held under the National University. The university authority publishes semester wise result, and after eighth semester examination, the final result is declared by the university. The results are declared according to the following scale:

Letter grade instructions
Numerical marks	Letter grade	Grade point
80–100%	A+	4.00
75–79%	A	3.75
70–74%	A−	3.50
65–69%	B+	3.25
60–64%	B	3.00
55–59%	B−	2.75
50–54%	C+	2.50
45–49%	C	2.25
40–44%	D	2.00
0–39%	F	0.00

Full marks of each course are 100, and total credit hours are 152.

Teacher Education Offering Institutions

In Bangladesh, there different types of national- and international-level institutions for offering Teacher Education program. These are the National University, the University of Dhaka, the University of Rajshahi, and the Bangladesh Open University (BOU).

The National University (NU)

According to the National University Website, “the university was established by an Act of Parliament as an affiliating University of the country to impart graduate and postgraduate-level education to the students through its affiliated colleges and professional institutions throughout the country. For that matter the University has been playing the most significant role in providing opportunities for higher education among the students coming from rural and semi-rural background at an affordable means since its inception (National University Website)”.

There are three types of programs in Teacher Education under the National University. One is the 4-year integrated Bachelor of Education (Honours) program. This program is arranged in 6 semesters. Each semester is comprised of a period of 6 months. The honours program has been introduced in 14 government teachers’ training colleges in the country. The second one is the one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) program comprising 2 semesters for a period of 6 months; each is conducted in all government teachers training colleges and other private teachers’ training colleges. One-year Master of Education (M.Ed) program is running under the same university. The program is also arranged in two semesters for a period of 6 months each.

Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka

According to the Website, “the Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka, was established through the joint efforts of the University of Dhaka, and the U.S. AID (then ICA) Mission. The U.S. AID Mission in this country entered into a contract with the Colorado State College, (later became University of Northern Colorado), Greeley, Colorado, USA, for professional services to establish, organize, and direct the initial stages of IER, including advanced overseas training of teachers. The contract came into effect on 1 November 1959. The classes of the institute began on 1 July 1960 with 33 students of one-year M.Ed. degree program. Over the year, it has expanded and diversified its programs. The number of students increased from 33 in 1960 to 700 (academic year 2002–2003). The Institute of Education and Research is an apex institute in the field of professional education in Bangladesh. It is the only institute of its kind under the public universities of Bangladesh which offers teaching program leading to higher professional degrees, conducts advanced research studies, and provides extension services in education. Its professional staff, most of them having overseas postgraduation and doctoral degrees and long experiences with specialization in various aspects of education, render professional services to government-sponsored committees and commissions on education to help develop the education sector of Bangladesh and provide consultancy services at both national and international levels. (www.du.ac.bd/academic/department_item/IER)”.

The Website stated that “the Institute was started in 1960 with the following objectives:

• To promote and to provide facilities for advanced study and research in education.

• To provide teaching, and guidance in order to prepare candidates for the degrees of Master of Education and Doctor of Philosophy in Education of the University

• To provide courses of further study for those already qualified to engage in educational work.

• To provide services for those concerned with higher education in the University Teaching Departments and affiliated or constituent colleges”.

Programs Offered

Over the years, IER has diversified and expanded its programs. For providing highly qualified professionals for the education sector, IER took the initiative and introduced the Integrated Bachelor of Education (Honours) program from 1994–95 sessions. The B.Ed. (Honours) program is first of its kind in this region where education has been treated as a discipline replacing its narrow connotation as teacher training.

At present, the programs offered by the institute are as follows:

• a. Four years Bachelor of Education (Honours) Program

• b. One-year Master of Education program (day)

• c. Two year part time (evening) Master of Education program

• d. MPhil Program in Education

• e. PhD Program in Education.

Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Rajshahi

The Institute of Education and Research (IER) of University of Rajshahi aims to develop professionals in education sector of Bangladesh since 2000. IER is multi-disciplinary research institute in Bangladesh. IER offers postgraduate and doctoral programs in the core areas of education.

According to the Website “aims and objectives of the Institute of Education and Research are:

• to provide teaching, training, and research guidance in order to prepare candidates for the degrees of Bachelor of Education with Honours; Master of Education (M.Ed); and Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Education;

• to provide courses of further study for those already qualified for teaching, e.g. postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDEd);

• to provide services for those concerned with higher education in the University Teaching Departments;

• to promote and to provide facilities for advanced study and research in all areas of education and at all levels, primary, secondary, higher secondary, and above spread into different disciplines; and

• to run projects and programmers for experimental (a type of educational research), survey, and other types of educational research including action research as a continuous process warranting the institute to have its own set up for primary, secondary, and higher secondary education in the form of Rajshahi University Pre-Primary school, and Rajshahi University school. For undergraduate and postgraduate levels, the University of Rajshahi with all its disciplined shall be treated as an open laboratory research.

The Bachelor of Education (Honours) course is running for 4 years from the Institute of Education and Research under the University of Rajshahi. The honours course is also arranged in 8 semesters for a period of 6 months each. Upon successful completion of this course, the University of Rajshahi awards degree to the students (www.ru.ac.bd/ier)”.

The Bangladesh Open University (BOU)

The School of Education (SoE) is one of the main schools among the six schools of Bangladesh Open University and has been operating its academic programs successfully since the emergence of the University in 1992. At present, the School of Education is conducting three programs which are M.Ed, B.Ed., and C.Ed (www.bou.edu.bd/index.php/schools/soe).

The key responsibility of the School of Education is to develop and nurture educational thoughts and teaching capacity of the teachers providing effective teacher education and training for all levels of education. At present, the school imparts the following formal programs in teacher education for the secondary level teachers.

Formal Programs

• 1. Master of Education (M.Ed)

• 2. Bachelor of Education (B.Ed).

Master of Education (M.Ed)

The main objective of M.Ed program is to provide an opportunity of higher study in education and thereby produce a group of highly skilled professional group experts in education and pedagogy. This Master of Education (M.Ed) program runs for the period one and a half year term. This program is arranged in three semesters for a period of 6 months each.

Bachelor of Education (B.Ed)

The main objective of B.Ed is to develop theoretical, conceptual and practical knowledge, understanding and skill of the target groups in pedagogy as well as in subject teaching conducting an efficient teacher education program. The duration of the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) program is 1 year. This program is arranged in two semesters for a period of 6 months each.

Basic Changes in Teacher Education

The following are the basic changes made in the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) program:

• Introduced one year instead of 10 months program;

• One year duration has been divided into two semesters in the academic session of 2017;

• New curriculum has been introduced in 2017. The previous was introduced from 2006 to 2007 academic session;

• Introduced new subjects with respect to the National Curriculum, 2012 which developed for the secondary level;

• Introduced double-phase teaching practice (TP). Earlier it was single phase;

• Internal and external marking system has been reorganized;

• Introduced semester and grading system instead of marking and class-based assessment system;

• The existing secondary education curriculum was developed in 2012. Accordingly, the teacher education curriculum has been redesigned;

• To introduce and emphasize on the use of ICT in education, the new teacher education curriculum was redesigned;

• Inclusive education has been introduced as compulsory subject in the second semester;

• Introduced Educational Research instead of Action Research;

• The subjects taught in the Humanities, Science, and Business Education group had been introduced as school-subjects;

• Teacher competency standard in the following areas had been introduced in the curriculum;

  • (i) Professional Knowledge;

  • (ii) Professional Practice;

  • (iii) ICT integration in Teaching Profession and

  • (iv) Professional Learning, Ethics and Values.

• Result publication has been changed into grading system.

Innovation in Teacher Education

The innovative aspects of the existing teacher education curriculum are as follows:

• Competency based and practical oriented;

• Designed in semester system;

• Teaching practice (TP) slot increased into double phase;

• Taught subjects are designed with respect to the National Curriculum, 2012;

• Introduced semester and grading system instead of marking and class-based assessment;

• Introduced ICT in education as compulsory subject;

• Introduced Inclusive Education as compulsory subject;

• Result published in Cumulative Grading Point Average (CGPA).

Accreditation of Teacher Education

In Bangladesh, the National University (NU) was established under the National University Act, 1992 (Act No. 37 of 1992) which had been passed by the Parliament of Bangladesh. In 1993, all Teachers’ Training Colleges were handed over to this university. The National University is a public university and is situated in the district of Gazipur, 30 km from the country’s capital city Dhaka. The nature of the university is off-campus and acts as an administrative university. The university is responsible for accreditation of the Teacher Education program conducting at the different private and government Teachers’ Training Colleges. And the Teacher Education courses offered by the IER, University of Dhaka and the IER, University of Rajshahi are required to be approved by the respective universities. On the other hand, the Bangladesh Open University (BOU) offers the Teacher Education programs are to be accredited by this university.

The final word is that the related universities as well as their institutions is the constitutional authority to standardize courses for the educationalist and teachers in Bangladesh.

Challenges

• Lack of trained teachers;

• Lack of technical support and Internet connectivity;

• Irregular attendance of the students;

• Assessment procedures are not re-evaluated;

• Examination based tendency of both students and teachers;

• Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) for final examination are irrelevant in Bachelor of Education (Honours) course;

• Existing satisfactory/non-satisfactory viva voce system for Bachelor of Education (Honours) course should have been allotted specific marks instead of 1 or 0;

• Training systems at private teachers’ training colleges are not properly monitored.

Future Directions

The main objective of the teacher education is to develop skilled and efficient teachers. In order to ensure the quality education, the following points are to be considered:

• Teachers will be trained up in such a way so that they can make themselves to be skilled;

• The Teacher Education curriculum and syllabus will be modernized with certain interval;

• Extensive co-curricular program will be included in the training, and the role of the trainers will be properly evaluated;

• The training program will include various courses of diverse context;

• Emphasis will be given in use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT);

• Required amount of training should be delivered maintaining the standard of secondary teaching–learning need;

• Preparing learners to be fit for the new situation in daily life.

National Teacher Education Council (NTEC)

Steps have been taken to set up and implementation the National Teacher Education Council (NTEC) under the Institutional Reform Program for setting and implementing standard standards for teacher training. The organizational structure of NTEC and the draft law has already been prepared.

The Accreditation Council Act 2017 has been enacted to ensure the quality of higher education in the country and to raise it to the world standard level.

Conclusion

Introducing the honours courses in education in Bangladesh, the great changes have been made in teacher education. The country has come a long way in improving the quality of general education through qualitative changes in teacher education.

Both the one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) course and the four-year Bachelor of Education (Honours) course have been redesigned with the aim of developing skilled teachers. The government is working on these changes with the aim of bringing the teacher training system to the international level. Such changes are in the interest of developing quality education. At present, the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) program is running in face-to-face mode under National University. Apart from this, the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) program is being conducted in distance learning mode under Bangladesh Open University (BOU) with the facilities of using some study centres throughout the country.

Introducing the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the existing Teacher Education for both one-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and four years Bachelor of Education is a new dimension in Bangladesh. Because, nowadays, without use of ICT, the daily life is incomplete and cannot be lead successfully. About two centuries ago, civilization took a radical turn on the wake of industrial revolution. The change is again taking place in the twenty-first century because of ICT revolution. Teacher is the main component in the use of ICT in education. Only skilled teachers can use information and communication technology in education to develop skilled students. The opportunity to use information and communication technology in education has been created to build suitable teachers for the twenty-first century. Due to great importance, the ICT Education has been introduced in both one-year and four-year courses.

However, in order to make teacher training more effective and successful, the attendance of participants in these courses must be properly ensured. For developing skilled teacher, field work and research work should be introduced effectively. In this case, the sincere and active participation of the participants will no doubt make the teacher training a success. And, a modern and effective teacher training system can help the country to develop more by improving the quality of overall education system of the country.