It has long been pointed out in India that the improvement of primary teacher training is one of the crucial keys to achieve the universalization of primary education. The purpose of this paper is to examine educational policies both under the British rule and after independence (1947), and consider the effectiveness of the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) system implemented by the Central Government since 1986.

     British Government never accepted responsibility for educating the masses and all the teacher education related problems were carried out after independence. The DIET system was designed to cover all India with a decentralized way of management. One DIET is scheduled to be established in each district to train primary school teachers and to improve primary education.

     Results of a questionnaire administered by the author to recent, successful students at primary teaching courses in DIETs revealed that there should be curricula more reflective of actual classroom situations and meaningful to the lives of local communities. Further, the DIET system needs active participation of the successful students who may work as primary teachers in the neighboring districts in order to enhance primary education.