The improvement of elementary teacher training has been an empty theory in Indian educational scene for a long time. This paper aims for a historical review of policies and implementation of primary teacher training in India both before and after independence, and examines how the Central Government after independence undertook the establishment of the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) system.

     Although reports under the British rule pointed out various problems in elementary teacher training, the British Government didn”Ēt accept responsibility for education the masses. Therefore, the solution of those problems was carried out after independence. The Central Government took forty years to investigate the complicated dimension of the difficulties and finally declared the establishment of the DIET system in its second National Policy on Education in 1986 (NPE86). The DIET system was designed to cover all Indian with a decentralized way of management, and provide elementary teachers who could live in the neighbouring districts and contribute to the universalization of elementary education (UEE).

     More than 306 of the DIETs had been established by the end of 1992, and most of them have already begun pre-service and in-service primary training. Further studies of the linkages with other educational institutions suggested by NPE86 and community participation for the UEE are necessary for effective elementary education in India.