District Institute of Education and Training, Sohra Civil Sub-Division, Sohra

Role & Function |
Organisational Setup |
Schemes implemented |
Citizen Centric Services |
Photo Gallery |

Introduction :

For the purpose of achieving quality education and to remove the backlog of untrained teachers and with the implementation of National Policy of Education (NPE) in 1986, the District Institute of Education and Training were established all over the country. In Meghalaya also, DIETs were set up in all Districts on the recommendation of the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) mainly to provide services in the areas like training, resource support and research in Education.

DIET, Sohra is one such Institute set up in Meghalaya. It is located at Saitsohpen, which is about 53 Kms from the State capital Shillong. This Institute was started in September 2000 and it became operationalised in 2001.

In the beginning, the Institute catered to the educational needs of the teachers of East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi Districts. However, with the creation of Ri-Bhoi District and the establishment of two more DIETs at Nongpoh and Nongstoin in 2005, DIET, Sohra began to cater to the educational needs of teachers serving in East Khasi hills District only. The course is offered only to pre-service trainees (wannabe teachers) who satisfies certain prescribed conditions laid down by the Directorate of Educational Research & Training (DERT) mandating them to secure a minimum of 45% and above in their HSSLC examination and must be below 27yrs of age during the time of application into the said course. Presently, the maximum intake is 60 students only per academic session.

Examinations at the end of the sessions were formerly conducted by the Meghalaya Board of School Education till 2004. But, from 2005-2006 academic sessions, the Directorate of Educational Research and Training (DERT) have taken over the same from the Meghalaya Board of School Education (M.B.O.S.E). Till 2005, the duration for the training Programme is one year, but since then, the programme course has been extended to two years.

Infrastructure :

The infrastructural facilities available may briefly highlight as follows:

(i) Details of the physical infrastructure available :

Sl No.	Description of land/building/office/classrooms/other facilities and amenities	Particulars of land/building/other facilities & amenities.
1.	The location of the land is in a single or different plot	Single plot
2.	The building plan is approved by	Directorate of private Instruction (DPI), Megha;aya, Shillong.
3.	Year of construction	Sept 1997 to June 1999
4.	Total land area of the institution	8000.00 sq mt.
5.	Total build up area of the institution	1064.00 sq.mt.
6.	Total land earmarked for teacher training programme	8000.00 sq.mt.
7.	Particulars of roofing	C.G.I. sheets
8.	Nos of rooms for Academic staff	6 (six)
9.	Toilet facilities	Separate toilets for male and female ( for students, academic & administrative staff)
10.	Nos of rooms for Administrative staff	1 (one)
11.	Nos of rooms for Principal	1 (one)
12.	Nos of classrooms	2 (two)

(ii) Details of instructional facilities :

Sl No	Instructional facilities available
1.	Library
2.	TLMs (White boards, Markers, Computers, laptops, etc…)

Courses :

Details of the course that the institute is offering :

Name of the institute	Location	Name of the course	Duration	Intake capacity
District Institute of Education & Training (DIET, Sohra).	Sohra/Cherrapunjee	Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed)	2 years	60 (sixty)

Activities :

The main activities of DIET, Sohra may be briefly highlighted as follows:-

1. Training and Orientation of the following groups:-

Elementary School Teachers (both Pre-Service and In-Service Education).
Headmasters, Heads of School Complexes and Officers of Education Department up to Block level.
Instructors and Supervisors of Non-Formal and Adult Education (Induction Level and Continuing Education).
Members of DBE and VECs, Community Leaders, Youth and other Volunteers who wish to work as Educational Activities.
Resource Persons who will conduct suitable programmes for the target groups mentioned at (i) and (iii) above, at Centres other than the DIET.

2. Academic and Resource Support to the Elementary and Adult Education Systems in the District in other ways, example by,

Extension Activities and Interaction in the Fiel
Provision of Services of a Resource and Learning Centre for Teachers and Instructors.
Development of Locally Relevant Materials, Teaching aids, Evaluation tools, etc, and
Serving as an Evaluation Centre for Elementary Schools and Programmes of NFE/AI.

3. Action Research and Experimentation to deal with specific problems in the District in achieving the objectives in the areas of Elementary and Adult Education.

The role and function of DIET in the present as well as future context should be as per the main thrust put forward in RTE, NCF 2005, NCFTE 2009, BITEs, SSA, RMSA and the various policies and programme set upon from time to time.

Events :

i) Word Literacy day - This event is usually celebrated by organizing literary activities engaging the students in essay writing, quiz, extempore, debate, skits, etc….
ii) Teachers, Day - This event is celebrated by the students with the active participation of the faculty members by engaging them in various inter-active sessions.
iii) Pre – Christmas & New year celebrations .

For the achievement of the mentioned aims DIETs have been set up in all the Districts of Meghalaya. DIET, Sohra is one such institute set up in East Khasi Hills. It is located at Saitsohpen (Sohra) which is at a distance of about 53 KMs from the Shillong, the State Capital of Meghalaya and also the District Headquarter. The location of the Institute falls under the Sohra Civil Sub-Division. It was started in 2000 and it becomes fully operationalised in 2001.

Report on Trainings & Research :

Some of the major trainings and research that were undertaken lately by the different branches of the institute are as follows:-

1. Work experience:-
a. A training cum workshop on SUPW was organized and co-ordinated by Dr. J. Myrten of WE branch on the following objectives;
b. To encourage the participants to engage in hands on activity like bamboo works, tailoring & embroidery, puppetry, fine arts, etc…making use of low cost materials.
c. To inculcate in the target group respect for manual work and dignity of labour.
d. To create a platform for sharing of experiences.
e. To fulfill the main objective of AHPL of earning while learning.

A total of 75 (seventy five) participants attended the training cum workshop on SUPW, where the trainees were exposed to ‘hands on activity’ organizing themselves into individual and group works. The resource persons were drawn mainly from outside the institute..

PSTE branch:-
a. A training on ‘Joyful Learning’ in two phases for Pre-school and LP school teachers was organized by the PSTE branch and co-ordinated by Smti H. Kharbuki, on the following objectives;
b. To have an understanding of the significance of play for the overall development of the child.
c. To plan appropriate activities for play-way activities.
d. To understand the different values of play and the role of teachers in motivating children to play.
e. To identify, plan and organize different types of play.
f. To understand the importance of the availability of play space for children and the role of different kinds of play equipment and play spaces in motivating children to play creatively.
g. To prepare play materials related to child’s development.

A total of 100 (hundred) participants attended both phases of the training recording a 100% attendance. The classroom were organized mainly into group activities, allowing the participants to be more engaging and ‘hands – on’, creating a conducive classroom environment for ‘learning by doing’. The RP’s were drawn mainly from DIET, faculty members.

CMDE branch: -
a. A training on CCE for 55 (fifty five) elementary school teachers of the district, was organized and co-ordinate by Smti. N. Biam, Sr Lecturer of CMDE branch, on the following objectives;
b. To enable the participants to grasp the meaning and concept of CCE.
c. To familiarise the participants with the different techniques and tools of CCE.
d. To encourage the participants to develop appropriate tools and techniques for CCE in their respective schools.

There was 100% attendance for the training on CCE, and the classroom was primarily activity-oriented, and the class was either engaged in individual or group work, where at the end of an activity, they were made to make presentation of their work followed by questioning and discussions. The RP’s were drawn mainly from DIET faculty members.

DRU branch: -
a. A training on RTE for 50 (fifty) VEC, SMC and Community leaders of the district, was organized and co-ordinate by Smti. R. Rymbai, Sr. Lecturer of DRU branch, on the following objectives;
b. To create awareness on the meaning and main objectives of RTE.
c. To familiarise the participants with the important highlights of RTE.
d. To highlight the role of the target groups in RTE.

A total of 50 participants attended the training recording a 100% turn out. The RP’s were drawn primarily from DIET faculty members, and the classroom environment was inter-active, followed by questioning and discussions. The participants showed a lot of enthusiasms on the subject of their different roles as define by the Act.

PSTE branch: -

This branch conducted a research titled ‘A study on the role perception and role performance of elementary school teachers of East Khasi Hills district, meghalaya’; for 95 (Ninety five) elementary school teachers of the district. The study was co-ordinated by Dr. J. Myrten and assisted by Shri P. Nongsiej, Shri K. Dympep, and Smti. B. Lyngdoh (faculties of DIET, Sohra) on the following objectives;

a. To find out the role perception and role performance of elementary school teachers of the district.
b. To study the role perception and role performance of elementary school teachers with reference to gender.
c. To study the role perception and role performance of elementary school teachers with reference to the type of institution.
d. To bring out the role perception and role performance of trained elementary school teachers of the district.
e. To bring out the difference of role perception and role performance of elementary school teachers of the district, with reference to gender, type of institution and status of elementary school teachers.

The tools used for the purpose of study was questionnaires and classroom observation schedule, making use of appropriate statistical techniques like percentage and graphs for analysis and interpretation. Meanwhile, the findings reveal that there is huge discrepancy in the role perception and role performance of elementary school teachers of the district, and it is suggested that teachers must develop their teaching skills to manage their classroom environment and to make optimum use of their TLM’s.

Planning & management branch: -

The training programme on ‘Leadership Capacity Building’ was initiated by the Planning and management branch of DIET Sohra, under the leadership of Shri. P. Nongsiej (Senior Lecturer) and was organized in two phases for a period of five days each, with the underlying objectives of introducing the target groups to:

a) The importance of environmental preservation in the context of Meghalaya.
b) The necessary life skills needed to survive in today’s complex social structure.
c) The important highlights of CCE.

The main intention was to empower the participants with the knowledge of environmental preservation, necessary life skills and the important highlights of CCE in order to familiarise them with these emerging trends that demands immediate attention.

The target group was mainly Head teachers of elementary schools of the district, and there was a 100% attendance. The sessions were mainly interactive in nature where the participants were engaged primarily in individual and group activities followed by presentation and discussions. The RP’s assume the role of facilitators making use of power points, short video clippings, etc… for transferring of information.

Constraints: - The institute experienced certain constraints while implementing the above mentioned programmes and activities, and they may be summarized as follows;

Shortage of man-power: - The co-ordinators of the various programmes and activities were over-burdened with the administrative and financial tasks due to shortage of administrative and academic staffs, leaving them with very little time to concentrate on academic activities.

Lack of transportation: - The in-ability of the institute to procure vehicles for conducting the various programmes and activities is disrupting their smooth operation, leading to wastage of time and energy.

In-adequate physical infrastructure: - The institute suffers from in-adequate physical infrastructure in the form of halls, conference rooms, hostel facilities, sports facilities, classrooms, etc…

SSA PROGRAMMES: - The institute is mainly involve in providing academic resource support to CRC, BRC members and elementary heads and school teachers of the district through orientation programs and trainings.

TEACHER TRAINEE STATISTICS: