Maharashtra’s School Education Department has made it mandatory for every teacher in the State to complete a minimum of 50 clock hours of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training annually. This is being done in accordance with the National Education Policy 2020. The objective of the training is to continuously enhance the knowledge and skills of teachers, encourage adoption of innovations and modern pedagogical methods, and foster the concept of life-long learning. The professional development of Headmasters, Supervisors, Deputy Headmasters, and teachers is a continuous and systematic process. Through this process, their teaching methodologies will become more effective and impactful, thereby facilitating the desired progress in students’ learning.

 

Furthermore, by incorporating new knowledge, this initiative will contribute to making the teaching process of even higher quality. The matter regarding the issuance of guidelines for the completion of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training was under the consideration of the Government. To ensure the effective, systematic, and high-quality implementation of this training, the directives are hereby issued, including planning and systematisation of training.

 

For the training of all teachers in the State—and pursuant to Government Resolution (GR), the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Maharashtra, Pune, serves as the apex training body at the State level in its capacity as the State Academic Authority; similarly, at the district-level, the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) serves as the apex training body for that district. Therefore, apart from this specific institution, no other department, office, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), CSR initiative, or other entity should independently organise parallel training programmes. This measure aims to prevent duplication of training efforts and avoid the wastage of teachers’ valuable time. The training materials developed by all such organisations should be technically approved by the SCERT. The expertise and guidance of outstanding trainers from various organisations should be utilised as resource persons during State-level training programmes.

 

The SCERT shall formulate a comprehensive Annual Training Action Plan at the State level for every academic year. This plan should encompass various components, including in-person (offline) training, online training, educational workshops, and similar activities. The training schedule should be planned in such a manner that teachers have the maximum amount of time available for actual classroom Annual Training Action Plan instruction. Care must be taken to ensure that teachers are not kept away from their schools or classroom teaching duties due to unnecessary training programmes. 

 

The should incorporate a ‘blended mode’ of training (combining online and offline components) and a ‘cafeteria approach’, thereby granting trainees the autonomy to select training programmes that align with their specific curricula and local educational requirements. The scope of training should encompass a range of activities—from online/offline workshops, seminars, and in-service training sessions, to online courses, webinars, collaborative peer learning, action research.