Overcoming India’s Teacher Training Barrier: Pre-Service to In-Service Gap
When you walk into any teacher education classroom, you will find young people who choose this profession with the belief that one day they wish to stand in front of a learner who looks at them for guidance. But the moment these trainees’ step into a real classroom, many realise that the shift from training to teaching is not as smooth. The system expects young teachers to manage a range of responsibilities, yet the system often fails to equip them with the practical preparation needed to handle the realities of modern learning needs.
The gap is visible in national Data, National learning outcome data from the government’s PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan shows that 43 % of Class VI students in India cannot grasp main ideas in texts, and 63 % of Class IX students fail to understand basic numerical concepts like fractions and integers, NCERT’s studies have repeatedly linked inconsistent teacher preparation to learning challenges. These findings reflect what new teachers face daily: classrooms with multiple learning levels, multilingual groups, limited planning time, and the pressure to show improvement quickly.
A large part of this struggle begins during the pre-service phase. Most of the teacher training institutions still provide theoretical teaching material. Trainee teachers learn pedagogy from books but rarely get enough chances to try things out, make mistakes, and receive meaningful feedback. This imbalance also reflects in the annual results of Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) performance. As per the Ministry of Education, annually about 13%-17% of candidates pass the TET. This is not a reflection of ability. It reflects the gap between what is taught in training and what the profession demands.
The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) aims to tackle this issue by focusing on teacher preparation as a key part of education reform. The National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) seeks to provide a common view of effective teaching. However, putting these standards into practice needs stronger academic leadership, a clear induction process for new teachers, and an environment where professional development continues throughout a teacher’s career.
Sterlite EdIndia Foundation works precisely in this space, building a bridge which connects pre-service learning with in-service excellence. In Rajasthan, Tripura, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, and Uttarakhand, we are working with B.Ed. colleges, DIETs, SCERTs, and government school systems to strengthen both ends of the spectrum. For pre-service education, EdIndia Foundation is currently working with 66 Teacher Education Institutions and has reached over 14,000 pre-service teachers through workshops on teaching practices, social-emotional learning, digital readiness, and mock CTET assessments. These sessions are not just theoretical lectures. They include bilingual micro-teaching, structured reflection, real-life examples, and classroom-like simulations that let student teachers experience what effective teaching feels like.
Digital learning plays an important supporting role. Through the akrava app, pre-service teachers access short courses and quizzes that strengthen conceptual clarity. The most accessed modules include behaviour management, foundational numeracy approaches, and lesson planning. The platform’s popularity comes from something simple; it addresses practical gaps that student teachers themselves say they struggle with during college coursework.
Also, many young teachers admit that stepping into a classroom full of students scares them, not because they lack knowledge, but because they do not feel ready. Mentoring, reflection circles, and supportive training environments help ease this fear. When young teachers feel supported, they start experimenting, asking questions, and growing. Classroom improvement then becomes a shared responsibility instead of an individual struggle.
Strengthening teacher education is one of the most critical steps toward the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. A well-prepared teacher means every child in the classroom has a chance to thrive, and when both feel supported, the society moves forward. Closing the pre-service to in-service gap is not only an academic requirement, it is a promise to India’s next generation.