Teacher Education Programmes in India and Nepal

Teachers are central to delivering education systems in any country, and therefore, the training anddevelopment of competent teachers is essential for the development of the country’s socio-economicfabric. Teacher education as a concept and as a programme, however, has undergone a certain cyclictransformation in countries like Indian and Nepal due to the changing government reflections, the shiftin education philosophies, and the implementation of effective government laws towards improvedteacher education. Similar to most countries globally, both nations have a legacy of colonial and traditionaleducation systems, and they have their achievements and constraints in developing teacher educationfor the 21st century. Due to the requirements of millions of children, India has started various institutesrelated to teacher education and training, National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). Particularly,due to the relatively smaller but more diverse population, Nepal has paid attention to the expansion,provision of access, equity, and the professional development of the teaching profession. Much attentionis paid to the structure and development of the teacher education programmes and the problems facedtoday in India and Nepal, key policy measures, institutional setting, and best practices are introduced inthis paper. It identifies the areas of improvement on quality assurance, professional development, andculturally sensitive education to support the learners of the 21st century.