What type of teacher training is imparted under DPEP/SSA ?
The training programmes under DPEP/SSA are intended for inservice teachers.
The basic characteristics of these training programmes are:

• Short duration (3 to 7 day) Programme
• Participatory approach
• Need-based
• Performance appraisal

The only exception to this type is the induction training programme of 30-day duration for Education Volunteers and Shiksha Sahayakas (SSs). The 30-day programme for Shiksha Sahayakas is divided into three inseparable and integrated phases such as 15-day induction, 10-day hands on and 5-day consolidation.

What is the programme for EVs and SSs after induction training ?
SSs and EVs will be exposed to general round teacher training programmes like
UNMESH-II, English and participation in monthly sharing-cum-training meetings on completion of induction training.

What is participatory approach in conducting training programmes ?
In participatory approach, every participant is actively involved in all activites of the programme. Unlike the trainer-centred training, participatory approach is essentially participant-centred and the participating trainees practically shape every aspect of transaction in the programme like, leading discussion, group or individual activities, drawing conclusions and overall management of the programme.

The participatory approach has distinct advantage over the traditional trainer-centred approach because,

• It is interactive, i.e. based on needs and experiences of participants
• It provides abundant scope for sharing valuable experiences and help in enriching and expanding experiences of participants.
• It is contextual and hence more relevant for participants as it is need-based and is intended to enable participants to come out with various strategies for solving the immediate problems faced by them.
• The views and experience of each trainee is respected.
• The training modalities are chalked out in consultation with participants.

How the training programmes are planned and conducted under DPEP/SSA ?
The planning and conduct of different training programmes are carried out by following procedures.

• Need of the target groups assessed
• Desired inputs decided basing on the need fulfilment analysis done by the State Resource Group.
• Modules for the General Round training programmes prepared and tried out by the SRG for the State and DRG for the district.
• Resource Groups constituted at district (DRG) and block(BRG) Levels trained who in turn train the teachers or the targeted participants following cascade approach.
• Teleconference done to over come transmission loss.
• The funds for the training programmes at the state level provided by the State Project Office and the same for the district and sub-district level provided by the respective District Project Office as per the approved unit cost.

The training programmes are extremely need based and the flexibility of DPEP enables the resource groups even at the block and cluster levels to plan and conduct short term training programmes to meet the immediate requirement of teachers.

What are the different types of Resource Groups and how are they constituted ?
There are three categories of Resource Groups, one at each level i.e.

• State Level - State Resource Group (SRG)(with 42 members)
• District Level - District Resource Group (DRG) ( about 30-35 members)
• Block Level - Block Resource Group (BRG) ( about 12-15 members)

The SRG in our State is also known as Core Trainer Team (CTT). The number of members may vary as per the requirement.

The members for each resource group for Pedagogy are drawn from teachers, Headmasters, supervising staff, faculty members of DIETs , CTEs, IASEs and SCERT, Retired persons. Shiksha Sahayaks, if found extraordinarily promising, can be taken in the Resource Group.

The members of SRG and DRG are selected through their participation in a visioning workshop in which they have to perform/participate in varied activities demonstrating their potentials as well as their pedagogical vision.

What are the functions of the Resource Groups ?

• SRG/CTT plans the pedagogical strategies, all teacher training programmes, conducts training of State Level persons and DRG members and monitors district level activities.
• DRG does similar activities as that of SRG at the district level.
• BRG in addition to conducting various teacher training programmes at block level, assess specific needs of the teachers and provide academic support to teachers.

Is it necessary that teachers or monitoring personnel need training on a continuous basis ?
Yes, since teaching-learning process involves innumerable complex factors, it is not possible to visualize all possible situations and provide one time training. Moreover, the curriculum is also changing continuously to accommodate emerging Concepts. Hence, teachers and monitoring personnel need recurrent training.

Is their any arrangement for external monitoring ?
Yes, the following institutions have been assigned to monitor SSA/DPEP activities.

• Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studits, Bhubaneswar .
• Dr. P.M. IASE, Sambalpur.
• Any other agency engaged by Govt. of India and Govt.of Orissa.

Besides training in what other ways teachers' academic abilities can be improved ?
In several ways teachers' ability to acquire new experience can be enhanced. Some Practices adopted in DPEP which can further be extended are :

Sharing Meeting : Meetings where teachers can share their good experiences and can also share their problems with other resource persons help in acquisition and understanding of novel experiences relevant to their academic and management issues. Monthly sharing meeting would be treated as a training day and to be conducted at the cluster level for Primary teachers and at the S.I. circle level for Upper Primary teachers with exclusive academic focus.

Exposure Visit : The resource group members and selected teachers are taken to visit good practices in schools/institutions. The experience gained can be shared with other teachers to have broader vision and improvement of their activities.

Distance Education : Distance Education methods like print materials (Self-instructional materials like “Ekalavya”), audio-video materials, tele-conferencing can be used for teacher education purposes profitably.

News letter : Providing news on innovative practices evolving in different parts of the world, interacting with others through letters and sharing one's own good ideas and practices with other, news letters on pedagogical practices at block, district and state levels can be published and distributed regularly. Quarterly news letter on classroom practices ‘AROHA' is an effort towards this.

Seminars & Workshops : Participation in various seminars and workshops enhancesthe teachers knowledge and understanding of their own problems and ways to formulate appropriate strategy to solve them.

Can the textbooks, reading and writing materials be provided to all students free of cost ?
No. under DPEP the textbooks, reading and writing materials shall be provided free of cost to all girl students, students belonging to SC & ST community at Primary level. Under SSA, free textbooks shall be provided to all girl students and students belonging to SC & ST in primary and upper primary schools with an upper ceiling of Rs. 150/-.