This document discusses the objectives and functions of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) in India. It was established to provide academic and resource support at the grassroots level for universalizing primary/elementary education and adult education. DIETs aim to help achieve literacy targets through teacher training, resource development and action research. They focus on disadvantaged groups and use a child-centered approach. DIETs train teachers and education officials and provide academic support through materials development, evaluation and community engagement. Their role is to help improve the quality of elementary and adult education systems at the district level.

1. DISTRICT INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION
AND TRAINING (1987)
PRESENTED BY
MONOJIT GOPE
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
KABI JOYDEB MAHAVIDYALAYA

2. INTRODUCTION
By the time of adoption of the NPE, elementary and adult education systems were already too vast to be adequately supported by
national and State level agencies alone. The NPE implied their further expansion as also considerable qualitative
improvement. Provision of support to them in a decentralized manner had therefore become imperative. The NPE and POA
accordingly envisaged addition of a third-district level-tier to the support system in the shape of District institutes of Education and
Training (DIETs). With this, expectation would be of wider quantitative coverage as well as qualitatively better support as these
Institutes would be closer to the field, and therefore more alive to its problems and needs.
Pursuant to the provisions of NPE on teacher education, a Centrally sponsored Scheme of
Restructuring and Reorganization of Teacher Education was approved in October 1987. One of the five components of the Scheme
was establishment of DIETs. Draft guidelines for implementing the DIET component were circulated to States in October 1987 and
have, together with certain subsequent circulars, formed the basis for its implementation so far. Till October 1989, Central assistance
had been sanctioned under the Scheme for setting up a total of 216 DIETs in the country.

3. OBJECTIVES OF DIETs
To provide academic and resource support at the grass-roots level for the success of the various strategies and programmes
being undertaken in the areas of elementary and adult education, with special reference to the following objectives: -
Role in Elementary Education
1. Universalisation of Primary/Elementary Education.
2. Adult Education
3. NLM targets in regard to functional literacy in the 15-35 age group.
The above is a general mission statement. It will have to be translated into
specific goals for the DIET, so as to suit the needs of individual states and districts, and will be ultimately operationalized
through specific performance norms set for individual DIETs.

4. CONTINUE
Pace-setting Role of DIETs
Pursuit of excellence would have to inform all activities of the DIETs, in which context, it will have two inter-related aspects:-
1. Excellence in the Institute’s own work, and
2. Helping the elementary and adult education systems in the district, in achieving excellence.
Transactional Philosophy of DIETs
A DIET will have 3 main functions, viz.
1. Training (both of induction level as well as continuing varieties)
2. Resource support (extension/guidance, development of materials, aids, evaluation tools, etc.) and
3. Action research

5. CHILD CENTRED APPROACH
1. Programmes will be need based. Even within group of trainees/participants, individual differences and needs will be identified
and catered to.
2. Trainees will be enabled to experiment, discover, learn, practice and innovate for themselves, rather than being lectured
to. Learning activities will be suitably organised, in individual and group modes.
3. Maximum possible use will be made of the local environment in the learning process. Curricula and learning activities will be
suitably related to it.
4. Good work done by trainees will be duly recognised, encouraged, displayed and publicized.
5. The DIET will itself adopt the attitude of a “life-long learner” rather than that of an oracle or know-all. It would receive as much
from the ‘field’ as it would endeavor to give to it. The district will serve as the ‘school’ for its learning experiences, while it may
carve out one or two special areas as its ‘lab areas’.

6. SPECIAL TARGET GROUPS UNDER DIETs
“The concept a National System of Education implies that, up to a given level, all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, have
access to education of a comparable quality: says the NPE. It goes on to say “to promote equality, it will be necessary to provide for equal
opportunity to all not only in access, but also in the condition for success”. This is quite the essence of the universalization task, and means
that needs of educationally disadvantaged groups would have to be given maximum attention. The largest such groups are:
1. Girls and women
2. Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes
3. Minorities
4. The handicapped, and
5. Other educationally disadvantaged groups e.g. working children, slum-dwellers, inhabitants of hilly, desert and other inaccessible areas,
etc.

7. FUNCTION OF DIETs
The context, mission and role of the DIETs have been discussed in the preceding Chapter. Their functions, as spelt out in the POA,
have been quoted in Annex 2. These could be re-stated as follows:-
1. Training and orientation of the following target groups
i. Elementary school teachers (both pre-service and in-service education).
ii. Head Master, Heads of School Complexes and officers of Education Department up to Block level.
iii. Instructors and supervisors of Non-formal and Adult Education (induction level and continuing education).
iv. Members of DBE and Village Education Committee (VECs) Community leaders, youth and other volunteers who wish to work
as educational activities.
v. Resource persons who will conduct suitable programmes for the target groups mentioned at (I) and (iii) above, at centers other
than the DIET .

8. CONTINUE
2. Academic and resource support to the elementary and adult education systems in the district in other ways e.g.
by 9I) extension activities and interaction with the field, 9ii) provision of services of a resource and learning
center for teachers and instructors, (iii) development of locally relevant materials teaching aids, evaluation tools
etc., and (iv) serving as an evaluation center for elementary school and programmes of NFE/AE.
3. Action research and experimentation to deal with specific problems of the district in achieving the objectives
in the areas of elementary and adult education.

9. STRUCTURE OF DIETs
Looking to the above functions, a DIET would need to have staff strength in the following areas:
1. Foundations of Education and Pedagogy.
2. The subjects taught at the Elementary stages; namely
i. Languages taught at the elementary level in the district (these may be two, three or even four, depending on the number
of language which are introduced in a State at the elementary stage, and factors like bilingual character of a district).
ii. Mathematics.
iii. Environmental Studies –Social Science.
iv. Environmental Studies –Science.

10. THANK YOU