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The skills and motivation of teachers play a pivotal role in shaping the quality of education. In Uttar Pradesh (UP), the state’s efforts under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the NIPUN Bharat Mission have brought forth a transformative journey to ensure that the state achieves Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) skills for all students, between the ages of six to nine years, by 2026-27. For this, a key priority area in the state has been to prioritise teacher professional development to improve student learning outcomes.

The Vision: Enhancing Teacher Capacity

Recognising that quality education begins with well-equipped educators, Uttar Pradesh embarked on an extensive professional development initiative for its 4.76 lakh primary school teachers in April 2024. These efforts focussed on enabling teachers to impart FLN skills in children through face-to-face (F2F) training and digital platforms like the DIKSHA portal and YouTube. 

Among the different modes of teacher professional development (TPD) outlined in the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), formal workshops play a crucial role. The NCF highlights that these in-person sessions should be designed to address various areas of learning and development for teachers. Such workshops must ensure that teachers acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in their roles, ultimately benefiting the students they teach.

A three-tier cascade training model, comprising state-level master trainers, block-level trainers and frontline educators, forms the backbone of this strategy. The F2F teacher training was supported by academic partners, Language and Learning Foundation (LLF) and Vikramshila Education Resource Society (VERS).

In the academic year 2023-24, teacher training in UP faced challenges that highlighted opportunities for improvement and innovation. Budget-related delays pushed the training schedule from August 2023 to January 2024, impacting momentum and continuity. The three-tier cascade model revealed limitations in ensuring uniform training quality, as inconsistent delivery across levels diluted the intended impact. Additionally, the need for more engaging, activity-based content and dynamic themes emerged, with teachers expressing fatigue over repetitive materials. Monitoring mechanisms also required strengthening, as irregular reporting to State Institute of Educational Management and Training (SIEMAT), Uttar Pradesh and logistical challenges affected preparedness and visibility. These experiences underscored the need for a more agile and robust framework, focusing on timely implementation, consistent quality across cascades, innovative content design and enhanced monitoring systems to ensure effective and impactful teacher training delivery. These gaps underscored an urgent need for a more robust and effective teacher training framework.

Re-strategising for Impact

The state adopted a series of measures to address these challenges for the 2024-25 training cycle. This included:

1. Optimised Scheduling with Election Phases

• Training batches were staggered to align with the multiple election phases across 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
• Refresher training was conducted for 300 state trainers before the commencement of Cascade 2.

2. Efficient Resourcing

Despite the challenges of conducting teacher training in an election year, the department, under the leadership of the Director General of School Education (DGSE) Kanchan Verma, demonstrated exceptional commitment to ensure training commenced on schedule in April 2024. Recognising the critical importance of adhering to these timelines, the Quality Unit Cell worked diligently to develop a robust training plan and support system. Additionally, proactive engagement with budgeting issues and strategic allocation of resources in phases helped facilitate the timely initiation of the training programmes.

3. Standardise Training Delivery to Mitigate Cascade Loss

To minimise cascade loss, three key measures were implemented:

• Core training videos: a set of five standardised videos was shared across all cascades to ensure consistent communication of the training strategy from the state level to the grassroots.
• Customised teacher handout: a  20-page physical handout was provided to each teacher, tailoured to the training content, to enhance engagement and improve retention.
• Standardised content: a shared field compendium was developed, including detailed instructions, standard PowerPoint presentations, user manuals and other materials to ensure uniformity in training delivery.

These inputs were integrated to provide a comprehensive understanding of the agenda items, forming the foundation of the academic strategy for 2024-25.

4. Improved Monitoring

 A comprehensive monitoring approach was implemented, involving oversight at the state, district owner and district project management unit (DPMU) level. SIEMAT, an autonomous institute responsible for training, was assigned to conduct full-day online observations during the training period using a pre-defined checklist.

The academic team responsible for these observations engaged with participants, identified and escalated issues and conducted follow-up observations to ensure adherence to standards. Pre- and post-assessment forms, including feedback collection, were integrated into the training design, where each participant was evaluated on their understanding of different components before and after training.

5. Fostering Professional Development through Activity-based Training

Training sessions included more activities while reducing content repeated from previous rounds. Challenges encountered by teachers in the field, such as reading practice and managing multigrade classrooms, were analysed and addressed in each session. Additionally, the training featured professional development components for academic resource persons (ARPs) and state resource groups (SRGs), incorporating immersive exercises and video-based learning.

6. Operational Efficiency 

Proactive resource allocation and strategic planning enabled training to commence on schedule.

Training Outcomes and Impact: A Positive Shift

The teacher training initiative in Uttar Pradesh has achieved notable outcomes, showcasing progress in participation, learning improvements and overall training quality. Some highlights include:

• Timely Completion: Over 4.76 lakh primary school teachers were trained across 880 blocks in the state by the end of October 2024. Timely completion of training was supported by visits from administrative personnel such as the Additional State Project Director (ASPD), Unit In Charge (Quality Unit) and Quality Unit members. Reviews by the DGSE along with the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) and district coordinator (Training) prioritised training and issued show-cause notices in areas with low compliance; this further reinforced adherence to timelines.

• High Participation: Teachers participation attendance averaged 95% reflecting strong engagement.

• Improved Learning Outcomes: Post-training assessments revealed an 18% improvement in teacher understanding, particularly in foundational subjects like Hindi and Math for grades 1 to 3, which saw a nearly 50% improvement in scores pre-and post-training.

• Monitoring Results: Monitoring reports rated training quality at 76%, with participants praising the enriched content and structured approach. Data triangulation was carried out using inputs from the Data Collection Form (DCF), SIEMAT, DPMUs and districts to ensure compliance. To assess the quality of training, DPMUs and SIEMAT conducted observations focusing on logistical arrangements, material availability, facilitation and participant engagement. As indicated in the referenced image, SIEMAT rated the training quality at 76%, while DPMUs reported a lower score of 61%.

• Quality and Feedback: The qualitative feedback highlighted both strengths and areas needing improvement. Suggestions for improvement included better logistical arrangements (such as generator and cooling fans) and shortening the long daily schedules. Many participants acknowledged enhancements in the training quality, citing improvements in content, handouts and timeliness as factors that enriched their experience.

Looking Ahead: Training in AY 2025-26

As Uttar Pradesh gears up for the academic year 2024-25, the lessons learned pave the way for further refinement. Consultative sessions with relevant stakeholders, workshops and using data to identify training needs will be crucial to shape F2F teacher training going forward. Addressing logistical challenges, optimising the cascade model and leveraging digital platforms can amplify these efforts ensuring better preparedness, enhanced training experience and improved learning outcomes for teachers. 

By fostering continuous professional development and embracing innovation, the state exemplifies the power of systematic strategies that empower educators to achieve a lasting impact, ultimately driving Uttar Pradesh closer to its goal of making every child NIPUN and significantly improving foundational learning outcomes.