New Delhi : Human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar today told Parliament several thousand teacher-training colleges could be recognized for failing to submit details about infrastructure and faculty.
Prodded by the Prime Minister’s Office, the National Council of Teachers’ Education (NCTE) is also planning to initiate steps from next year for quality control. It will hold a national entrance exam for admission and also start giving approval to institutions on an annual basis, council sources said.
The NCTE had last year asked all recognized teacher-training institutes to submit affidavits by November 15, 2016, with supporting documents about infrastructure and faculty. The NCTE took the step after receiving complaints of sub-standard training at several institutions.
“We have asked for affidavits with videograph from all the institutes about their facilities, teachers, salaries, courses offered, success and efforts. Around 6,300 colleges have responded. Nearly half of the institutions have not given information. We have issued notices to them asking why their recognition should not be discontinued,” Javadekar told the Rajya Sabha.
According to the NCTE website, there are 23,219 teacher-training colleges in the country.
“We have asked for the reasons (for the failure to submit the affidavits). In the next 15 days, when the reasons are furnished, we will decide the next action,” Javadekar said.
Some private colleges welcomed the measure.
“This is a good step. This will help us know if we are lacking somewhere. We recently submitted the details,” said Musidul Islam, the superintendent of Jalangi BEd College in Murshidabad.
NCTE sources said there were nearly 15 lakh seats in the teachers’ training institutions. Because of the absence of a uniform policy on admission, most institutions take in students arbitrarily.
Although there is a state-level committee to decide the fees, many institutions are facing complaints of over-charging.
“From next year, the admission is more likely to be done through a national-level test. The NCTE is talking to the National Council for Educational Research and Training about the entrance test,” an NCTE official said.
The NCERT holds national-level entrance tests for admission to the teacher-training courses offered by its five Regional Institutions of Education.
Teacher-training institutions apply for NCTE recognition before offering courses. There is no provision for annual approval and the permit holds good unless it is withdrawn for mismanagement.
“The NCTE is planning to amend its regulations to have a provision for annual approval. That will ensure a minimum standard at the institutions,” an NCTE official said.
The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) gives approval on an annual basis.
Javadekar said only 40 percent of the country’s engineering students were employable. The AICTE is set to design a model course for each subject at the BTech and MTech levels.
AICTE chairman Anil Sahashrabudhe said the model syllabus would set the minimum benchmark for every subject. “There is no model syllabus. As a result, the syllabus varies from university to university. Our model syllabus in technical subjects will set the minimum benchmark,” he said.
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