In a landmark judgement, the Calcutta High Court has ruled today that 28 B.Ed. colleges — which were functioning without securing affiliation from the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) — will be de-recognised with effect from 2004-2005.The colleges — operating under Kolkata, Bardhaman, Vidyasagar and Kalyani varsities — will have to withdraw academic legitimacy to the students of the batch of 2005-2006. The Court order will bar about 5,000 students from appearing for the B.Ed. examinations this year.The court ruling came in response to a PIL filed by an advocate of the Calcutta High Court, Anjan Bhattacharya, who followed up another PIL filed by Tulsi Bakshi against eight ‘‘illegal’’ B.Ed. colleges operating under North Bengal University (NBU).‘‘Bakshi had won the case. In April, the Court had ruled that B.Ed. colleges have to abide by NCTE rules or run the risk of being declared illegal. Despite the ruling, all the illegal B.Ed. colleges continued to operate,’’ said Bhattacharya.The State Government, though, plans to challenge the judgement in the Supreme Court. ‘‘We are prepared to take up this matter with the Supreme Court. We are talking to the NCTE and the Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD), Arjun Singh. We will withhold the B.Ed. examination this year till this issue gets resolved,’’ said State Higher Education Minister Sudarshan Roy Chaudhury.However, the ruling has put the private owners of B.Ed. colleges in a quandary. ‘‘What will happen to students who have invested one whole year in this course? Each student spends at least Rs 30,000 studying B.Ed. at a private college. Even if the B.Ed. exams are held this year, it is unlikely that these students will be allowed to appear,’’ said the owner of a private B.Ed. college affiliated to Bardhaman University.Calcutta University, which is in favour of the stricture, will hold discussions with the State Government and the judiciary before it takes any action against these colleges. ‘‘These students may have to be absorbed by the recognised B.Ed. colleges. We will take steps once we see the judgement,’’ said Professor Suranjan Das, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University.
