What is unique about the TPO – the Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad?
CENTA Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad or TPO is a first-of-its-kind national competition for teachers across India. While the purpose is to recognize and felicitate outstanding teachers, CENTA TPO 2016, much like its previous edition, is a unique and exciting test for teachers for a few reasons. The test is standards-based and, through that, grounded in best practices and relevant research. It is applicable across boards and types of syllabi. Additionally, the test innovatively assesses teaching practice through situation responses. The prizes associated with TPO are also exciting, to say the least. Given the tremendous response of teachers across the country to the first edition, this second edition is being offered in 22 cities across India (vs. 7 last year) and in 11 subject tracks, including one track in Hindi medium, plus two ‘TPO Challenger’ tracks.
What is the benefit to me, a teacher, participating in the TPO?
First, you get the opportunity to win some very exciting prizes, including cash awards, participation in an international conference, national recognition and the opportunity to co-author a book. Second, every teacher will get a Confidential Personalized Performance Report providing details and analysis of your performance and how it compares to other test takers. Third, the TPO is the first step towards the CENTA Certificate which is a professional certification for teachers.
Why is it interesting for us, a school, to encourage our teachers to participate in the TPO?
TPO allows schools to create opportunities for their teachers at a national level, which are often difficult to create otherwise – e.g. participation in an international conference, profiling in a national newspaper, opportunity to contribute to a book and so on. The school (or institute or organization) also gets recognized along with each winning teacher, through a TPO Certificate. Every teacher who participates in CENTA TPO 2016 gets a detailed confidential performance report which can give focused direction to their own professional development, therefore benefitting the school. All schools that have 10 or more teachers participating in the TPO will also receive a summarized report of their teachers’ performance (WITHOUT names of individual teachers), which we hope can significantly inform the school’s overall professional development efforts for its teachers.
I participated in TPO 2015. Can I participate again? Is there any restriction on the rank or prizes that I can get?
Yes, you can participate again. There is no restriction with respect to scoring and ranking – you will compete normally with all the participants of the current year and can get any rank as per your score. However, for two specific prizes – international conference sponsorship and profiling in The Hindu group of publications – we have placed a restriction that those who won these from TPO 2015 cannot win them again for two years. This is to make sure that a larger number of teachers get access to these unique opportunities.
Can I take the TPO if I am a professional fellow working in education, not a school teacher?
Yes, you can take the TPO. The TPO is intended for teaching professionals as well as others interested in teaching (including those not teaching currently). Therefore, fellows, volunteers and others are welcome to participate. However, since the intent of the initiative is primarily to recognize and celebrate career teachers or teaching professionals, in each category of prizes, there will be a cap on the number/kind of prizes that can be given to fellows, volunteers and others, as decided by a panel.
Can I take the TPO if I have not taught before or am not teaching currently?
Yes, you can take the TPO. The TPO is intended primarily for teaching professionals and those interested in becoming teaching professionals. However, the eligibility criteria for participating are only: 18 years of age (as on January 1st, 2017), and a graduation degree in any field (if you hold a diploma in education, you can participate even without a graduate degree). Teaching qualifications and teaching experience are not mandatory for participating in the TPO.
I am currently in the final year of my Graduation degree. Am I eligible to take the TPO?
To be eligible for the TPO, you should have completed a graduation degree in any field. Alternately, if you have a diploma in education, you can take the TPO.
Is the TPO for private school teachers or government school teachers or both?
TPO is for all teachers of the country irrespective of the type of school they teach in.
The subject I teach is not included in the test tracks. Can I choose any other subject for the TPO?
Yes, you can choose any test track that is most suitable, from the subject-grade combination tracks available. It is your choice and should ideally be a subject with some long term interest and in which you may also like to be CENTA Certified in the future. We are increasing the number of subject tracks available, each year
Can I take the test in a subject different from what I register for?
No, the test needs to be taken in the subject or test track for which you registered.
Can I opt for more than one subject track?
Yes, you can opt for a maximum of three subject tracks in different time slots. However, please note that certain subject tracks are only available in specific time slots – based on this, you can choose two or three test tracks in the ‘Test details’ page of the registration form.
Will I be given the centre of my choice?
You will definitely be given a centre in the city selected by you during the registration process, out of the 22 cities with centres for TPO 2016. Exact centre location within the city is at CENTA’s discretion (though we are trying to capture your preferences in the case of the bigger cities or metros).
Will I be given the time slot of my choice?
TPO 2016 will be conducted in three time slots: 9 AM to 11:15 AM, 12 Noon to 2:15 PM and 3 PM to 5:15 PM. However, some of the Subject Tracks may not be available in all the slots – once you choose your Subject Track in the registration form, the time slots available for that Subject Track will be shown, and you can provide your preference. However, you may or may not get the time slot that you select as preference – the final allocation will be made at CENTA’s discretion based on availability and will be communicated in your hall ticket, available for download a few weeks before the test. TPO Challenger is available in only the third time slot and will run from 3 PM to 6:30 PM.
What is the payment for the TPO?
The fee for any test track except the two challenger tracks is Rs. 450 each (inclusive of service tax and all other charges). The registration fee for TPO Challenger is Rs. 750 (again all-inclusive). This is to be paid as part of registration process and is non-refundable. If you choose to take the TPO in more than one track (maximum of three), the registration fees for each will be added to get the total fee.
How should the payment for the TPO be made?
There are three ways to make the payment: 1) you can make the payment online, that is the simplest option and your registration will be confirmed immediately; 2) you can pay through a Demand draft deposit/ Cash deposit in any HDFC Bank branch close to your location; or 3) you can courier a Demand Draft to us.
Any school or organization with 10 or more teachers participating also has the option to register and pay together through the ‘institutional registration’ form. In the case of institutional registration, direct bank transfer is also available as an option.
Some teachers from my school have already registered for the TPO through Institutional Registration? Can I still register for the TPO?
Yes, you can still register as an individual using the ‘individual registration’ form.
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